Operation: BOND
by Tziput13
Summary: The Delightful Children attack Sector V's treehouse for the umpteenth time. Yet, the operatives realize fast that something is different in their five nemeses… and that they might not be fully prepared for it.
1. The Delightful Children

_**AN:** Three notes before getting to the story._

 _This fanfic is based upon a specific premise, one 'headcanon' of mine if you like. I have found out that this idea placed some of the characters in behaviours that might be considered borderline, very close to being straight OOC. While I did my best to avoid this and make everything plausible, I think it's better to warn you about it._

 _I chose the names for every one of the Delightful Children arbitrary. One of them comes from the show itself and is obviously canon, others have been based on information taken from other sources and at least one is entirely based on the, supposedly, fandom's most popular choice. All in all, I want to say that these are just my choices_ _ **for the fanfiction**_ _. If you find the names to be erroneous or different from the ones you think or believe are theirs, I'm sorry. Try to think of them as a simple personal view of mine._

 _Last but not least: this is not a Sector Z story. And by that, I mean that Sector Z, despite being referenced, will not play a major role in the plot._

* * *

…

 **Now Loading: Kids Next Door mission…**

…

 **Operation:**

 **B.O.N.D.**

 **Bothersome Opponents Now Dangerous**

…

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

 **The Delightful Children**

The sun slowly descended behind the horizon and, at the same time, the darkness began to substitute the light in the surroundings of Sector V's treehouse.

Usually, when the day made its way to the evening, the operatives reunited after the dinners with their respective families to spend some time together in recreation, right before going to bed. To be precise, this applied to Numbuhs Two to Five, since right now Numbuh One was doing something far different from relaxing.

The leader of Sector V didn't mind working while his squad members had fun by themselves. To be honest, right now he was busy with something that did not have to do with a future mission or an order sent by Global Command, so it was debatable whether what he was doing was 'work'. What Numbuh One was currently immersed in was an original idea of his own.

He had not chosen a specific name for it yet, and thus the kid normally referred to it with a generic 'Villain Encyclopaedia'. It was a list of villains and foes the Kids Next Door had fought throughout the years, both ones Numbuh One had faced himself and ones from the past, with a description as much detailed as possible of every one of them. Powers, weaknesses, character, anything that could help future operatives while taking on the enemies of the organization.

Numbuh One was, more particularly, putting the finishing touches to the article referring to a villain he and his friends knew very well. Their arch-nemesis… the five of them.

The Delightful Children from Down the Lane.

He hummed and put the pen aside for a moment. The Delightfuls… the five evil kids Sector V had fought against for so long… had it been two years since they first encountered the perfects? Maybe even three? Numbuh One wasn't so sure.

Writing the part about their tactics was easy, really. The bald kid knew everything about the Delightful Children: a very long list of various attacks and strategies filled something like forty pages of the first draft. What was more difficult for Numbuh One was describing their character and behaviour. They were the Delightful Children, all right… made to be perfect to the eyes of Father, the kid-archetype every adult longed for… at least according to the ideas of their guardian. But apart from the generic villain monologues and the fact they were evil… they didn't have a real behaviour, one that defined them. Actually, the _absence_ of it defined them.

Numbuh One knew about the Delightfulization process and what had happened to the five legendary operatives of Sector Z, the same ones who had helped him when Grandfather rose to power again. He had personally witnessed to the transformation to and from the two groups. Yet, he had doubts… was Sector Z really gone from the Delightfuls' minds? Was the coordination fact a result of the process or something deeper than that? Was it linked with them being enemies of the Kids Next Door or was that a further evolution of the influence of Father?

Numbuh One was positive that if he'd asked those questions to his friends, they would probably have suggested him to go to sleep. _And maybe they're right… I'm digressing. Is this really important to know for the future operatives? The Delightfuls are more than an exception rather the ordinance, after all. I've already talked about their features as enemies… those should be enough for them, as enemies who have no distinct trait or oddity._

Nigel Uno had made his decision and he would have proceeded with Chester if it wasn't for the sudden alarm that rang throughout the entire treehouse.

 _WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_

He didn't waste time. He was already moving when the intercoms stopped the initial alarm and began to ring a series of sounds with a precise rhythm. As Sector leader, Numbuh One knew about every security protocol and it wasn't difficult for him to decipher the sound code. _Attack. Someone's attacking the treehouse!_

He put himself over the wooden pavement and, a moment after, he slid down a hidden tunnel. Exactly twenty seconds later, Numbuh One landed right in the centre of Sector V's briefing room, right over the podium. From his position, he checked and was satisfied to see all the four operatives of his sector right in front of him, ready for action.

They didn't even have time for greetings as the computer's voice began its monotone report. _"Data analysis of Alarm #4521, categorized 'Attack report'. A possibly hostile entity has been detected and is nearing the treehouse at fast speed. The entity is a vehicle with no offensive capabilities detectable as of now, categorized 'dropship'. Estimated time of arrival: eight minutes."_

 _Eight minutes?_ Numbuh One wasn't expecting this ETA. _We always barely have the time to prepare when they send an attack towards us, and now we know it way before they arrive?_

" _Thermic analysis estimates number of occupants to five…"_ the computer added.

"Five? Let me guess, it's the Delightfuls, aren't they?" Numbuh Two reckoned.

"About time! 'Thought the dorks had surrendered for good, they haven't showed up for what, a month?" Numbuh Four said.

"Yah. Numbuh Five doesn't even remember seeing them in school this week," Numbuh Five said, "and if it's them in that dropship it's safe to say they're not sick."

Numbuh One nodded. "Whatever they've been planning it must be big. But even if it isn't, we should stay vigilant."

"Numbuh One, what about-" Numbuh Three wanted to know if the hamsters who gave power to the treehouse were safe from harm but she was cut off.

" _ALARM!"_ the computer voice interjected, _"Entity has remarkably modified its speed. New estimated time of arrival is-"_

The operatives fell on the ground as a quake went through the frame of the treehouse and something was heard crashing.

" _-minus two seconds."_ the computer finished.

"Wow, thank you very much!" Numbuh Four commented, not amused, before getting up.

"Leave the sarcasm for later, Numbuh Four! We don't want to leave our _guests_ without a proper welcome party, do we? Everybody on the move!" Numbuh One ordered. And the four kids immediately obeyed the order.

Nigel went into a hallway and ran as the computer's voice continued its report, using the speakers fixed on the sidewalls to communicate with the running operatives. _"The treehouse detectors confirm the presence of five individuals in the dropship. Crashing zone: level three, secondary hangar."_

Numbuh One made some fast calculations in his mind and immediately took a turn. Behind him he heard footsteps and he watched his back for a moment to see Numbuh Four and Three following him.

He redirected his gaze forward and the three of them sprinted into the hallway and down a level of stairs, when suddenly a portion of the wall to their right literally swung out, revealing an entire armoury set of 2x4 gadgets.

While Numbuh One never separated himself from at least one SPICER gun, he didn't want to take any chances and picked up a SCAMPP rifle. Numbuh Three and Four followed his example even if the latter carried a MUSKET as well, and soon the trio of kids was again on the move with the three barrels of their weapons ready to fire.

"Numbuh One, what do you think the Delightful Children are up to?" Numbuh Three asked.

"Apart from defeating us for good? I'm almost sure this is no regular attack, Numbuh Three. They have stayed low for too much time for comfort… and that's why we're going to be cautious about it. Clear?"

"Yep! Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get them as we always do!" Numbuh Three replied happily, to which Numbuh One could only smile. How Kuki managed to always be cheerful continued to baffle him.

He had to admit, though, that he shared to an extent her thoughts. The Delightful Children were the Delightful Children… and he had lost count of how many times they had beaten them. _Today's not going to be an exception… we'll just need to be ready, and we'll send the five dorks back to Father!_

They spent two additional minutes running before they reached the secondary hangar. They were greeted by a huge cloud of smoke when they hastily burst into the chamber.

The three kids immediately started to cough. _"*COUGH!*_ What the heck, I can't breathe! _*COUGH!*"_ Numbuh Four complained as he tried to protect his nostrils from the dust.

"Don't worry, guys, help is on the way!" the voice of Numbuh Two came, followed right after by Numbuh Five yelling, "Numbuh Two, wait! GUYS, TAKE COVER!"

Nigel, Kuki and Wallabee immediately dropped themselves on the ground and grabbed the nearest heavy object that was available. Numbuh One could only hear two _*click*_ noises before whatever devilish machinery Hoagie was going to use turned itself on.

A vacuum cleaner sound was heard. Followed right after by a typhoon-grade suction wind. The three kids in the hangar found themselves being lifted from the ground and they held on what they were keeping in their hands for dear life as the smoke cloud was literally cancelled in a few moments.

"NUMBUH TWO! STOP THAT THING NOW!" Nigel bellowed. Eventually the wind disappeared, letting the three of them fall. Numbuh Four started to kiss the floor while Numbuh Three tried her best to reorder the hair that was all over her face, but Numbuh One immediately stood up to greet the two remaining operatives.

Numbuh Five and Two joined them shortly after, coming from the same hallway the three of them had come from. Hoagie was holding was looked somewhat like… a vacuum cleaner, not surprisingly. The surprising feature was the fact that the operative easily kept the machine with his hands, holding it like a rifle. The only object of remarkable size was the giant dust bag behind Hoagie.

"What's the big idea, Numbuh Two?! Were you trying to suck us into that thing as well?!" Numbuh One roared.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was helping you clean up the dust all over the place, you know!"

"You could have at least told us about your little plan _before_ you went on with it!"

"Oh, okay, okay. Sheesh, talk about gratitude…" Numbuh Two muttered, putting the 2x4 vacuum cleaner on the ground. Numbuh Five wasn't amused by the chubby boy's behaviour either, but she kept silent.

Nigel turned around and for the moment forgot about Hoagie's overpowered invention. "Forget about it. We have other matters to deal with. Squad, in formation!"

Abigail and Hoagie positioned themselves by Nigel's right side, while Kuki and Wallabee moved to his left side. When the wedge-like formation was completed, Nigel made a signal and the operatives moved together into the central part of the hangar, which wasn't small despite it being a secondary one. There were even some abandoned vehicles around, partially scrapped or simply forgotten.

They walked through the scrapyard of sorts and finally found themselves facing the sidewall of the hangar that separated the room from the outside. This wall was automated and, in case of need, could be commanded to open, but right now that was not needed since the dropship had literally torn into it. There was a huge hole in the wall, and about forty meters away from the damage lied the small transport vehicle, which looked unscathed save for the fuming back motors.

Sector V continued to move and stopped only thirty meters or so away from the wreck. They waited quietly (well, that was true for everyone except for Wallabee, who soon began to tap one of his feet to the ground impatiently) for the occupants of the dropship to reveal themselves.

At last, a hatch opened on the side of the ship. And, slowly enough, the five invaders exited from it and faced the Kids Next Door.

The five operatives immediately raised their weapons when they finally saw the Delightful Children's faces.

" _Hello, Kids Next Door,"_ the Delightfuls began with their usual monotone, coordinated voice. At first sight, not much had changed in them, except for their way of clothing. Gone were the formal blue suits for the boys, gone were the blouses of the girls. The five well-behaved kids now wore a lighter and more comfortable outfit, composed of a simple, white t-shirt, a pair of blue shorts and white sneakers with blue stripes.

"Hi!" Kuki immediately answered politely. Wallabee groaned and decided to follow a different approach compared to the Asian girl. "Finally! What have you five been doing until now? I thought you finally learned that there's no way you can beat us and gave up!"

" _Give up?"_ the Delightfuls repeated before falling into collective laughter. _"Oh, not in the slightest, Wallabee. As you can see, we're here, and we have no intention of going back!"_

"Mmh, so what, you need another lesson?" Numbuh One taunted. He knew that teasing their enemy a bit always resulted in getting them distracted on the long run. Well, most of the times anyway.

" _You're completely misunderstanding us, Nigel. We've come to show you something, Kids Next Door. We're here to show you that we are… different…"_

"Different? What, you've suddenly stopped being evil and want to join us?" Numbuh Five said. She scoffed. "I don't see anything new here apart from your clothes. Looks like Father has had enough of your continuous failures and the way you always go home with your previous suits damaged beyond repair, huh?"

"Good one, Numbuh Five!" Numbuh Two said, grinning at the five perfects. "I think that it's more likely that the Toiletnator manages to capture the Supreme Leader by himself than to see you five willing to ally with the Kids Next Door!"

The Delightful neutral faces slightly shifted to a scowl, but their voice remained unfazed. _"We've changed, indeed, but not in the way you're assuming. We assure you, though, that this change is definitely… for the better."_

Numbuh One flinched. _I have a bad feeling about this._

Nothing however could prepare him for what happened afterwards.

"And now you'll get a first-hand example!" Bruce said, while the other four Delightfuls' mouths remained closed.

The air gained a feel of uneasiness as the operatives stayed immobile, aiming at the five children. Bruce had spoken out of the flawless coordination that the Delightfuls were broadly known for.

… _that doesn't mean anything,_ Numbuh One thought. _The Delightfuls can actually act by themselves and we already know that thanks to the operation against the coffee rigs._

But Numbuh One couldn't shake away the feeling that something wasn't right. And the situation, indeed, developed against his hopes. Bruce made a step forward, and the other four children remained immobile.

"What, nothing to say? The cat stole your tongue, Kids Next Door?" Bruce continued. By himself, his resemblance with Numbuh Four was uncanny to say the least.

"…uuh… not, of course not! What you're trying to do, anyway? If ya' think that's going to take us aback, I have bad news for ya'!" Numbuh Four tried to retort. His tone, however, wasn't as determined as usual. Numbuh One checked his other teammates' faces and he saw the same signs of awkwardness on their features. They shared his own worries.

And before he could open his mouth to address the issue, Costance and David moved. The short girl went to Bruce's right side, while the tall boy took his position on his left.

Numbuh One bit his lip.

David crossed his arms while Costance grew a wide, disturbing smile. That didn't leave space for debate: the three Delightfuls who had stepped forward were _disconnected_ by each other, since their postures were completely different.

Behind them, Ashley slowly raised her hands and put them behind her neck, in a way that most people would have deemed informal… very different from the usual behaviour of the Delightfuls. "I disagree, Wallabee," she said, _alone,_ while she walked to get to Costance's side, "I feel like you all are quite stressed by now… am I wrong?"

Lenny moved as well to take his position to David's left. Of the five Delightfuls he was the only one to maintain at least one part of his usual clothing, since he carried his football mask. Even so, he looked as different as the other four, and behind the shadow of his mask the operatives of Sector V knew that he was smirking.

"What's the meaning of this, Delightful Children?" Numbuh One uttered, trying to sound threatening.

"Numbuh Five doesn't see anything strange, Numbuh One. They're just trying to creep us out, but they're still the Delightful Child-…"

"Stop grasping at straws, Abigail. You all know _very well_ what's the meaning of this, Kids Next Door," Bruce interjected.

"It means that today is the day of your downfall," Costance said.

"We don't need Father's fancy weapons, we don't need war machines, we don't even need a complex and well-thought plan. Not anymore…" Lenny affirmed.

"We need no help… and you five will _succumb!"_ Ashley hissed, raising her hand and pointing at them.

"You will surrender, or you will suffer as you discover that you cannot do anything to resist our newfound _power!"_ David said, his voice tone was almost comparable to shouting now.

Then the Delightful Children kept silent. For ten, long seconds, nothing happened. Then, without notice, the five perfects rushed forward, and the KND operatives retaliated by opening fire.

* * *

The Delightful Mansion usually consisted of silent, dark hallways during the late evening. This time, however, the scene was different since a storm was raging on the outside. The sound of rain battering on the windows could be heard in almost every part of the building, while lightings illuminated the walls for an instant only to be followed by loud thunders.

Even so, the Delightful Children knew better than to be scared by such weather. The five children were currently walking down a hallway, while Bruce carried a candle to light the road ahead, travelling towards their own bedroom. The thunders continued to cover their coordinated footsteps, but the five didn't mind. They used to be scared by it once, but Father had quickly managed to teach them how to it was childish to be so... by showing them what was really threatening, of course.

In fact, the only worry the Delightful Children currently felt was how the storm was most probably ruining the most detailed bushes of their graceful garden.

The five children smiled together. That was a legitimate worry, but Father had at disposal an army of gardeners among other things. If for some reason there happened to be one leaf out of place the day after, they would see it fixed before they could even realize it.

The Delightfuls always liked to see something orderly, functioning and well-preserved. Unlike the idiotic Kids Next Door, especially the five rascal inhabitants of the giant treehouse. Maybe they should have payed a visit to Father before going to bed, to ask if he had any instructions for them about the next day and if he liked their new idea. The five had already been brainstorming their next plan, and they were eager to tell Father about their wicked plot.

They were one-hundred percent sure that, this time, they would have been victorious.

They made a few turns, not a single error, and in no time they saw the door to Father's study. While approaching, they immediately noticed the fact that it wasn't closed but left ajar.

 _A visitor at this hour? Father's surely not going to like this…_ the hive mind of the Delightful Children thought. They were well aware of how it wasn't wise to talk with Father when he was in a bad mood, and for a moment they considered the possibility to postpone the visit to the following day.

That was, until they heard someone speaking from inside Father's office. And it wasn't the voice of Benedict Uno.

"…believe me, Mr. Uno. I am one-hundred percent positive that your children, your _delightful children,_ have nothing to fear but to improve."

"My Delightful Children are already perfect as they are. You'll have to do better to convince me… and my patience is already running thin, Freud!"

"Mr. Uno, your children are a miracle, and we both know it. However, their condition cannot be judged _fully_ perfect… they are delightful indeed, but they do have weaknesses that can be corrected. Let me work with your children, Mr. Uno… and, I give you my word, your Delightful Children will be better than ever!"

The Delightfuls were astonished. It wasn't common for them to hear anyone at all talking about them… even less common if it were adults, since they were so good-behaving no one had ever felt the need to complain about them. Except for Father when he found out they had failed again in taking out the Kids Next Door.

Perhaps that was the reason why they stopped and eavesdropped the first part of the conversation, but that was enough. The five perfects shook their heads and together they decided to move in. It was bad to spy on a conversation, far from what they knew was righteous, and by the way if Father wasn't that happy to talk with this stranger, maybe he needed to be accompanied out of the mansion.

Indeed, when the Delightfuls made their entrance, the office was illuminated by fiery flames emitted by Father himself, who was definitely struggling to keep calm, "Psychologist or not, I do not need your services. This is a waste of time… Leave _. Now."_

" _May we help our guest leave the mansion, Father?"_ the Delightfuls said, startling the two adults. Their hostile glare didn't leave doubts about their opinion of the psychologist.

Father quickly regained his composure and made an affirmative sign with his hand. "Yeah, right, do whatever you want, just make this fool get out of my sight."

The stranger, however, wasn't apparently troubled by the fierce display of Father's power. The man, who probably was around the same age as Benedict, currently wore a formal attire. Through his glasses his eyes were observing the Delightful Children, and the perfects found his gaze unnerving to say the least.

The psychologist beat them on time. "It's exactly as I thought… my hypothesis is indeed true."

He turned back towards Father and let his hands fall on the villains' desk, obtaining his attention once again (and annoying him even more). "Listen, Mr. Uno. Your children are delightful, and it is not in my plans to prove that they're not. However, I know about the incident that let them become what they are… and I know that this is not exactly what you had planned for in the first place, isn't it?"

Father whirled around on his office chair, the flames dying out. "Mmhh… that may be right, but my Delightful Children still are perfect as they are." The psychologist gave a glance to the Delightful Children again and the perfects were horrified to see him smiling. That was expectable though: it was already a miracle Father hadn't reduced him to a pile of ashes yet.

"Yes, they are… but they can be even better. Mr. Uno, you just have to-…"

"You might have a point, shrink," Father suddenly interrupted, "but that does not mean we'll ask for your help. What's in for us, in any case?"

"Most of what you all can imagine," the psychologist continued, and the Delightfuls had to spend a second pondering before realizing he was talking with them as well. "After the treatment, the Delightful Children will be changed for the better and they will stop altogether to displease you, Mr. Uno."

Father inquisitively narrowed his eyes. "Displease?"

"I'll rephrase. Does the name 'Kids Next Door' ring a bell?"

Father slumped back into the chair. "Yes, it does. But what do the brats have to do with any of this, Freud?"

While talking to him, the psychologist kneeled down to watch the Delightful Children, who unconsciously made a step back. "When I'm done with my work, the _power_ of your children will be levels and levels higher than their current state. They are _limited_ at the moment, but after I'll have helped them overcome their limits, they will become stronger than ever… and unstoppable by anyone."

He stood up again. "Anyone… including the Kids Next Door!"

Father moved his piped to the other side of his face. "I'll admit, now you're talking a language I can understand…"

"That's because the Kids Next Door have been… a thorn in my side as well, lately. The so-called defenders of younghood apparently did not approve of my methods… This is going to be my last job on the field in any case, so why not hitting two birds with a stone?"

He moved his hands sideways, "From this we all have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. I only ask for one chance, Mr. Uno… you'll see yourself if my work is worth or not the valuable time of your children."

Father moved a hand to cover his mouth and chin. He was in deep thought, apparently. The Delightfuls themselves didn't exactly have a clear view of the situation as well… they had failed to understand what the psychologist longed for. They, however, understood that he was an enemy of the Kids Next Door. And he was an adult.

How could anyone of that age and with such an enemy in common be of any hazard for their well-being?

"Humph. _So be it,"_ Father finally announced. "But you have just one chance, _Edwards._ And know that, if I ever see that your so-called method causes my children to be less delightful, even by a single inch… you'll find yourself in an extremely _blistering_ situation."

"You could not have been clearer… Father," Dr. Edwards responded, finally resolving to use the villain's name. He offered his palm, and the two of them shook hands.

The Delightful Children watched the two adults while they did so. They didn't know what the future had in store for them now, but they knew that now there was no going back.

* * *

 _ **AN:** You certainly have noticed that this chapter features two distinct parts. Without spoilering anything, I want to say that these are the beginnings of the two storylines that together form this story. Both will be brought forward in each of the following chapters, and both will reach their respective ends together._


	2. Worrying Thoughts

_._

 _Chapter 2_

 **Worrying Thoughts**

This was not supposed to happen. Not a single aspect of all of this made sense to him.

It was not the first time the dorks had attacked, obviously. If he had to admit, it wasn't the first time they'd managed to be an actual nuisance, too.

Yet, Numbuh Four was still trying to accept the fact that he was in this situation. The fact that he was fighting with only _one_ of the Delightfuls… and that, somehow, he was keeping the hand-to-hand combat specialist at bay.

Wallabee didn't even remember the name of the tallest of Father's proud children… and to be honest, why should he have had to up until that moment? But here he was, with his SCAMPP rifle reduced to a heap of junk by who he believed to be a weakling until ten minutes ago. _Have they always been this cruddy fast?_

"Why won't you stay still and bear a hit like a man?!" Wallabee roared in anger after missing the nth punch. He moved forward and attempted another lunge with his fist, which the tall Delightful avoided with ease. However, Wally's foe wasn't paying attention to where he was going and he promptly stumbled on a misplaced wooden plank of the hangar's floor. That was the cue Numbuh Four had been waiting for: before David knew it, he was stormed by the operative with first a pair of punches right into the chest, then with an uppercut so strong that it effectively sent the guy flying.

"Ha!" Numbuh Four laughed mockingly, rubbing his hands, "And you thought you could actually beat me?"

David fell hard on the pavement, but he stood right back up a moment later, ready to continue the fight. "So, whatcha waitin' for, huh? Come and get me if you- HEY! Where do you think you're going?"

David didn't answer and carried through with his sudden retreat. Numbuh Four immediately ran after him, but he also tried to understand what the heck the dork had in his mind. He gave a glance to the direction the Delightful was following… and noticed Numbuh Two battling with a football masked adversary.

In the frenzy of the battle, Numbuh Four had completely forgotten about his teammates, who had dispersed around. Seeing Hoagie barely keeping Lenny's fists away from his face succeeded in restoring his memories, though, and Wallabee re-entered battle mode with the newfound knowledge.

"Numbuh Two, watch out!" the Aussie operative shouted, but Hoagie didn't look like he had heard him. He was too much preoccupied with preventing Lenny from headbutting him.

Wally expected the worst, but instead of attacking, David circled around the two of them, just as Lenny suddenly shoved Numbuh Two away, who staggered back while trying to recover his breath. Moments later, David and Lenny were by each other's sides, immobile and staring at the Kids Next Door in wait.

"Numbuh Two? Are you okay?" Numbuh Four asked right after joining his chubby friend.

"Been better… _*huff*,"_ the operative responded between the breaths. "I… _*huff*…_ I should've followed your advice and train a little more in combat. I thought these guys would've been easy to deal with, since they always got some type of lackey to do their dirty work, but it looks like they went through a full karate course!"

"No, not that level, but they _are_ better," Numbuh Four specified while he glared at the Delightful Children. "We'll beat them, anyway. I just got the tall one so hard he left looking for help, the coward!"

Wallabee had voluntarily said the last sentence so loud that the two children in front of them could hear every word. However, there was no answer from them.

"Hey, I'm talking about you two! Nothin' to say?" he questioned. The Delightfuls were looking at him with clearly hostile glares, but their mouths remained shut. "Ha, did ya' forget how to talk or what? To be honest, you almost look cute!"

"Numbuh Four, I don't think it's a good idea to insult-…" before Hoagie could finish the sentence, the Delighfuls sprang away and in a few instants they were on them once again. The battle restarted right from where it had stopped, with Lenny assaulting Numbuh Two and David going for the blonde operative.

Hoagie knew he wasn't exactly a wrestling champion, and as such he kept being defensive, trying to avoid the punches thrown at him by the Delightful Child, all while Numbuh Four returned back to his exchange with its previous foe. It was a situation that would have ended up wearing them down, and Wallabee was willing to prevent that from happening.

Thus, a minute after the start of the second fight, Wallabee suddenly shot away from David and went for Numbuh Two and Lenny. The Delightful was too much preoccupied dealing with Hoagie to care, and he had his back to the KND operative. Numbuh Four was one-hundred percent sure he was too fast for any warning from the other Delightful to come and save his companion from his surprise attack.

Yet, Lenny suddenly turned around without notice. Not one word had been spoken by David. Yet, the other Delightful Child moved a hand and Numbuh Four's punch that was supposed to hit his back was blocked.

"What the-?"

Lenny's knuckles collided with Wallabee's face and the operative was sent stumbling back, holding on his nose. "Now you _did it!_ I'm going to pick that mask of yours and make you eat that thing all in – HEY!"

Numbuh Four's fury had once again made him lose track of the scene as a whole, which include David. The Delightful Child had grabbed him from behind, clinging around his back and blocking his arms. Numbuh Four thrashed about, shouting obscenities and flailing his legs, but David kept the hold and didn't let go. He was apparently _stronger_ as well as faster,too.

The operative stopped his attempts only when he realized that Lenny was right in front of him, opening and closing his hands and ready to beat him down to a pulp. Numbuh Two had of course realized of the danger his friend was in right now and he would have started running and screaming a war cry before someone beat him on time.

A shadow from above them suddenly landed right beside the two Delightfuls and their prisoner. Before anyone could realize what was going, the shadow figure raised a SPICER gun and opened fire, scoring a headshot on David's face. Numbuh Four was finally free, but before his saviour could do anything else Lenny made a move and Wallabee received a hit right on his knees.

Numbuh Four lost control of his hurt legs and, against his will, his body fell to the floor, all while Lenny and David retreated back from safety. "Ow… how I _hate_ those delightfuls…" Numbuh Four groaned to himself.

"Leave the sulking for later, Numbuh Four!" the voice of the shadow said, as a black-skinned hand appeared over him. "We don't have time for that!"

Numbuh Four grumbled something under his breath, but he grabbed the helping hand anyway. Numbuh Two joined them just after the operative was standing.

"Think you can still keep it up?" Numbuh Five asked, examining Numbuh Four's legs.

"Are ya' kidding? It's gonna take more than that to make me give in!" the operative responded offendedly, but the girl didn't look like she was reassured by his response. "The Delightfuls are hitting _hard,_ Numbuh Four. You might want to protect your body if you don't want to continue this fight on a wheelchair."

"Puawh!" Numbuh Four replied, shaking his head. "Just let me show those dorks how's it really done and I'll-!"

"Hush," Numbuh Five's tone wasn't loud, but it was _firm,_ enough to finally gain the silence of the irate operative. "I'll let you have your revenge, but before that I need to make sure that you _know_ what you're up against."

"What you're talking about? Of course, we know, that's the Delightful-"

"Yes, you do _not."_ Numbuh Five sighed. "Numbuh Four, _listen._ Those are _not_ the Delightful Children you know. They're not the same."

"So? They might have learned a few tricks and spent a few days exercising at the gym, but that doesn't change who they are! They're the Delightful Children and we'll beat them like we always do!"

"Wally, use that brain of yours!" Numbuh Five said exasperatedly. "Think about _how_ they fight. How they act!"

Numbuh Two decided to add his two cents. "Numbuh Four… she's right. You saw it yourself… you left David and went to attack Lenny from behind, but he _knew_ you were coming… all without a single word spoken between them. Now, that's strange."

Numbuh Four couldn't find a way to argue with that statement. And, frankly, he knew that the Hoagie was right. Their enemies had more than couple of fancy moves up their sleeves...

The three operatives couldn't continue their discussion as they heard the noise of hands clapping. They turned their heads to see David and Lenny looking at them, the former being the source of the noise. "I'm impressed! _Bravo!"_ he exclaimed with fake enthusiasm, "I never would've said you would realize so fast how _much_ in trouble you all are."

"It's a pity, actually…" Lenny continued. "I was looking forward to let you slowly get more and more desperate to find a way to beat us before realizing that we're unbeatable. A little fun wouldn't have hurt!"

That way of speaking. Clearly the one of a wicked villain, all right… but informal, casual… far, far from the calm, controlled speech they were used to hear from the Delightful Children. Numbuh Four had _hoped,_ hoped that this was all part of their plan. To have them be taken aback by their new behaviour and, therefore, take advantage of their confusion. But he now knew that it wasn't a well-prepared prank, nor was it part of a thought-out master plan courtesy of Father.

The two sentences spoken by David and Lenny were disconnected and independent. The coordination was no more. The only feature that didn't change was the smugness of their faces… or had it increased?

"Numbuh Five," Numbuh Two asked as they moved to each other's side and prepared to resume the fight. "What about Numbuh One and Three?"

"See it yourself, Numbuh Two," the girl simply replied, nodding her head to another direction. Both Numbuh Two and Four followed her lead to see that on the side catwalk of the hangar there were noises of a second battle going on. Before any of them could make out who exactly was winning, David and Lenny sprinted forward and went for the offensive, apparently forgetting about their inferior numbers.

The Kids Next Door braced themselves, ready to take on the _new_ Delightfuls.

* * *

Numbuh One and Three were busy with a firearms battle. The two of them shot with a SCAMPP and a MUSKET respectively, all while from the other side two Delightful Children were responding with their own weapons. Abigail had decided to leave them once she'd saw Numbuh Two and Four were in need of help, but while Nigel knew she was right he sure hoped she could return soon, because as far as he knew, there was _one_ Delightful Child missing… and he didn't want to find himself outnumbered.

Costance and Bruce continued to bombard them with their stolen 2x4 equipment, either from a nearby stack or from the operatives themselves. Under the rain of hard-hitting candies and laser beams, Numbuh One was trying his best to think of a plan. He leaned his head over his cover but he saw a beam coming towards him and he had to move back before he could take aim with his 2x4 rifle.

Kuki was trying her best to fight back, but even she was cornered behind the crate box she was using for cover. Numbuh One had no dobuts, he was sure the Delightfuls were slowly moving towards them. Their time was running out, and they had to make a move themselves before something bad would occur.

And of course, destiny wasn't going to help them out. Numbuh One was just considering whether attempting to reach the nearest stairs to reunite with the rest of his team or not when he heard an alarmed scream: "NUMBUH ONE! WATCH OUT!"

Nigel acted on pure instinct and literally threw himself away from his cover. Just a second later, Ashley landed where he used to be, coming from who knows where and with a fist ready to strike him. Her punch hit nothing but the rigid wooden pavement of the hangar's side-platform, though.

Numbuh One barely had the time to stand up before Bruce came to the help of the other Delightful Child. The operative moved back, evading the butt of the SCAMPP wielded by the blonde boy, but Bruce persisted with his attacks, going all the way to abandon his rifle and start throwing kicks at him. Kuki moved away from her cover, MUSKET at hand, but before she could fire a torrent of gumballs ran over her, coming from Constance's stolen GUMZOOKA.

Kuki retaliated with her own weapon, but doing so left Numbuh One to himself. It wasn't the first time the leader of Sector V had found himself facing more than one enemy at the same time, but battling with the two Delightfuls was far different from any other confrontation he had participated in in the past. Ashley and Bruce _complimented_ each other: a punch from one of them was followed by a kick from the other, every attack one of them couldn't evade was intercepted by his or her ally. Their fight looked more like a dance than a real brawl.

Eventually, Numbuh One managed to at least repel Bruce, scoring a kick in the chest. He turned around to face Ashley, who immediately made a couple of steps back. She didn't run away though: before Numbuh One could make a move, she moved a hand behind herself and grabbed hold of the weapon she had been hiding on her back, a new addition she didn't own back when they first encountered each other on the hangar's floor.

Numbuh One swallowed down a yelp when Ashley revealed the long, black-coloured staff. She brandished the wooden weapon expertly, rotating it around herself to get acquainted with it, before pointing it at the operative.

"Surprise, Nigel," she stated right before moving for the kill. Numbuh One had to revert to defensive manoeuvres: he had no way to land a hit on the Delightful's body, not without earning a new bruise over his body. Ashley was fast and _ruthless,_ and she didn't hesitate to club whatever punch or kick Numbuh One tried to land on her.

The amount of concentration needed to fight with her didn't help the Kids Next Door agent on the long run. After twenty intense seconds, Nigel distinctively felt a sharp shot of pain ran all through his body, starting from the spine on his back. He staggered around, trying to reach out the place where he had been hit, but Ashley's cane moved and his chest received a direct hit, knocking him down.

Bruce was the obvious responsible for the surprise attack, and the boy would have continued with his work along with her 'sister', if it wasn't for a splash of mustard over his face. Ashley's attention was diverted from Nigel as she saw Kuki moving towards her, wildly trying to score shots at both Costance and her… but she wasn't a sniper. Gumballs were hitting all over her body and head, but Kuki was apparently biting the bullet.

 _Thanks, Numbuh Three,_ Numbuh One mentally said before standing up, ignoring the aches on his back, and went for a revenge attack. He _knew_ that Costance was busy with Kuki and that Bruce was momentarily blinded… this time, Ashley simply couldn't see it, if his hypothesis about the Delightful's new abilities were true.

And, indeed, Ashley didn't move, and Nigel's punch hit hard on her back. The startle of the attack was all Nigel needed, since he then proceeded to trap her in a grapple, stealing the staff from her and holding it right under her chin, close to her neck and leaving just enough space for breathing. The Delightful girl tried at once to gain freedom, but the sudden pressure on her trachea made her reconsider her attempts.

"Stop this _instant!"_ Nigel Uno bellowed. Costance and Numbuh Three stopped skirmishing and Bruce didn't move to attack after his face was cleaned from most of the mustard. "Stay where you are and there won't be need to hurt your… uh, sister, or whoever she is!"

The faces of Costance and Bruce were now neutral… or were they worried? Numbuh One wasn't sure. The Delightful Children's expressions were often hard to decipher, but in any case, he now had an advantage.

At least, he hoped he had.

"Now, now, Nigel, that is a bit rude, even for you," Bruce suddenly said, his deadpan look turning to a smirk. His hand slowly moved… to his own SCAMPP rifle which had been lying in wait on the floor up until that moment.

"Hold it!" Nigel demanded, but Bruce grabbed hold of his rifle nonetheless. "Why should I? It would be foolish for me to fire it at you… I might end up scorching my own sister with this crude laser rifle of sorts. You have nothing to worry about, Nigel… do you?"

The question wasn't supposed to have an answer, and Numbuh One knew it. He was trying to make him nervous. "Cut the play down… uh, Bruce," Nigel said, hoping he had not missed the name. After all, it was the first time he had to use it in months... if not years. "You won't get me distracted!"

"Why? Do I need to do that?"

Numbuh One frowned and decided to keep silent. Let him taunt if he wanted… he had a few seconds free to think about what to do. There was no way the Delightfuls could–

 _ZAP!_

Bruce's SCAMPP fired a beam right at him, but just as the laser started to sparkle out of the 2x4 rifle's muzzle Ashley suddenly raised a foot and stomped on his own with her full weight and force, right before attempting to lunge forward with her entire body.

Confusion and pain invaded Nigel's head and only with his steel will he managed to not let the Delightful Child go. He pressed hard on her neck with the staff, effectively cutting her breath off, and he would have managed to take her back if he had the time.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Ashley's move didn't earn her freedom, but it had managed to have her lean downwards a little. Just the few centimetres enough to evade the incoming laser beam.

Numbuh One was hit on the head dead centre. He immediately lost his grip on the rod and started walking backwards, teetering around. His eyes had been partially blinded and he wasn't sure whether his sunglasses were still in one piece or not. His stunned senses barely took notice of the noises of weapons being fired, the cry of a girl and footsteps closing in.

Finally gaining control of his eyes, Numbuh One opened them and he could just see the form of the staff moving towards him. He was hit once, twice, three times. After the fourth hit, he finally gave up and tumbled down the ground.

He tried to recover his breath but ended up with a series of wheezes. Yet, he didn't even have the chance to finish this as the staff moved and halted just a centimetre away from his nose. His sunglasses were still in once piece, somehow… but the same couldn't be said for the rest of his battered body. There was no doubt: he had been defeated.

Ashley's eyes were staring at him, a hostile scowl suggesting worrying thoughts about her next decision regarding the kid's destiny. Nigel moved his eyes, since he didn't know if he was permitted to move his head, and saw Numbuh Three still standing, thank goodness, but with Costance pointing a SCAMPP rifle right at her. The guns they were previously holding were gone.

Bruce's face appeared in Numbuh One's line of sight. He was smiling.

"Congratulations, Nigel, you managed to stall the inevitable for some minutes. Now, though, you'll have to help us out a little… I'm sure you will cooperate, won't you?"

Before Numbuh One could retort with a bitter jab, the staff moved and pinched at his nose. He gulped and looked at the current wielder of the weapon.

"Remember. _Cooperation._ Oh, and by the way… try another stunt on me like that, Nigel Uno, and hair will no more be the last feature of your head that went _missing…_ " Ashley hissed.

Nigel Uno kept his mouth shut.

* * *

The Delightful Children were nervous. If not downright worried.

Not that they didn't _want_ to do it. It was Father's bidding, after all, and it was they duty to fulfil their guardian's desire. Yet…

The five children waited in a huge chamber that looked all like a gym of sorts. Father had chosen this one room and had it reconverted to training purposes, as asked by his new employee. The elegant furniture was gone, replaced by a few starting exercise contraptions, and the floor had been covered with an appropriate pavement cover.

Despite the changes, the room was still _perfect_ in its structure. The lighting was just right and the few objects followed a specific order in their placement. It was still worthy of the Delightful Mansion it was part of.

…but why would the psychologist have wanted a gym, of all things?

The question was yet to be answered and the Delightful Children didn't expect it to be so that day, since they were still wearing their usual uniforms, which were far from being suitable for physical activities. No one had asked them to change attire, either.

Eventually, the doctor made its appearance in the room. Edwards walked towards them quietly, his eyes focused on a little notebook, and he decided to look at the five well-behaved kids only after he had reached them.

"Good morning, Delightful Children," the psychologist greeted formally. "How are you doing today?"

 _"We're fine, Doctor Edwards. Thank you,"_ the kids answered together. The doctor smiled.

"Excellent. It's time to start things off then… Mr. Uno wants results, and I'm willing to satisfy his desires before I get burned to ashes."

" _Doctor Edwards… We don't want to irritate you, but we have a question… what exactly do you want to do with us? What do you think you can improve?"_ the kids asked. He looked at them inquisitively before letting out a little laugh.

"Ha, don't worry, you have every right to know, but let's just say that after what we're going to do right now you'll have that question mostly cleared. Now, back to business… I did some research regarding your past experiences, particularly the ones with the Kids Next Door. Do not overthink about it, I won't judge you about your successes of lack thereof. My curiosity was way more piqued by other… _details._ Let's see… Lenny?"

The named Delightful couldn't help but gulp. "…yes?" he timidly said. Hearing one of the Delightful Children talk independently was always a rare event.

"I read about the deception plan you were part of during the incident of the coffee rigs. Quite clever, I'd add – it's a pity the Kids Next Door knew about it even before you put it into action. But I digress… is it true? Were you the one Delightful who went infiltrating the ranks of the KND?"

"Yes… it's true," Lenny replied. Talking about a past failure was never nice for the Delightful Children… and that was even truer now that the culprit himself was asked for confirmation.

Edwards nodded. "Good. Again, don't worry about your past results, it's of no concern. Tell me, Lenny… how did you _feel?"_

Lenny raised his head and squeezed his hidden eyes. "Pardon?"

"I mean, when you left your… I'll call them 'siblings' from now on. When you separated from them to go undercover, did you feel something? And if so, what was it?"

Lenny didn't expect this kind of question. It had never crossed his mind to ponder over how it had been to leave the company of the other four Delightful Children for an extended period of time.

"Well… uuhh… _we_ don't remember much. It was… strange, we're so used to being together," Lenny's words were uncertain. He felt uneasy under the gaze of both the other Delightfuls and the psychologist.

"Uuum… so, you'd say, it was simply uneasiness derived by the change of situation?"

"…I guess?"

"Nothing deeper than that? A disturbance of sorts coming from you, and you alone?"

"…I don't think so, Doctor Edwards."

Edwards hummed. He had been looking at the reaction of the other Delightful Children as well. "What about you four? Do you have anything to add?"

" _We've felt the same way more or less. We were mostly focused on the plan to really ponder over it… sorry, Doctor Edwards,"_ Ashley, Bruce, David and Costance replied in perfect synchronization.

Edwards hummed again. "Well, that gets 'space' crossed out. I'm not surprised, it didn't really make sen - huh?"

He noticed that Lenny had already regrouped with the others. "Lenny, why did you join back with your siblings?"

If Lenny's face hadn't been covered by the shadow of the football mask, it would have been possible to see panic on his face. _"We… we didn't mean to…!"_ the Delightfuls babbled together.

"Ease. I'm not going to scold you for not asking permission, 'Delightful Children'. I just wanted to know if you were all… _tending_ to return to your, I'd say… group formation?"

The Delightfuls exchanged glances between each other, and they eventually nodded.

"Huh… not _fully_ crossed out then. I think I know where to go now. Hold on for a minute, children," the psychologist ordered. He walked away and began to move around some of the stuff that had been left in the gym. The Delightfuls observed every one of his actions, trying to find a logic in his actions… but there was none. He arranged various objects that had no relation to each other…

…apparently.

Finally, Edwards finished his work and snapped his fingers. "Perfect!" he uttered to himself, before turning around to face the Delightful Children. The doctor was actually opposite of them in the gym, a good thirty meters away, but the man didn't find the distance to be a problem.

"I will assign you various task to execute, Delightful Children. Follow my instructions and please, if anything changes in what you're feeling, experiencing or enduring, tell me so. Is that clear?" he said loudly.

The Delightful Children raised five of their hands, as a sign that they had understood. They were starting to get more used to the presence of the Doctor… whatever he was going to ask them to do, they were going to do it together without a hitch and-

" _David? Please, leave your siblings and come over here,"_ the doctor called.

…maybe not _together._

David made a step forward, gave a fast glance back to the remaining Delightfuls, then he walked over to the psychologist. "I'll give you a very simple task, David," Edwards explained as he handed over a basketball to the child. "See the basket above us on the wall?"

David nodded. "Try to score a few points, David. But make sure to be _fully_ focused on what you're doing… that's even more important than you actually getting the ball inside the basket. Think you can handle it?"

David looked at the psychologist as he had just been asked to join the Kids Next Door. Playing basket? Just what in the world was he trying to do?

…yet, he was an adult. And it would have been very rude for such _delightful_ children as them to disobey a request from a more mature person. "I'll do it," David said right before attempting the first toss.

Edwards clapped his hands approvingly… and the next ten minutes were spent similarly by the doctor. He took the remaining four Delightful Children, one by one, and he put them to carry over a few, very simple tasks, which had no link whatsoever with each other.

Ashley was given a tennis racket and asked to repel the balls thrown at her by an automatic machine.

Bruce was assigned to the exercise benches and the doctor asked him to order the various weights he had previously mixed together.

Lenny received the mission to practice target aiming with a laser rifle stolen from the KNDs and recovered by Father's ice-cream men's storehouses and a few dummies as operatives.

And, finally and more strangely for a gym-like room, Costance was simply given a chair, table, paper and pen: she was to solve a list of simple math problems.

All of the Delightful Children were currently debating whether Doctor Edwards was of sound mind or not. But the psychologist didn't seem to be amused or confused or anything else: once Costance was immersed in her equations, he walked to the centre of the gym and looked at the five kids, dead serious and making sure they were all doing what they were ordered to.

He drew out his notebook, again, and scribbled down something. "Keep it up, and remember: focus on what you're doing and be sure to tell me if anything changes in what you're feeling!"

Thus, the minutes passed. The Delightfuls carried through their tasks without a hitch or protest, and the psychologist waited in the centre of the room, checking his watch every so or often. He wrote down the time every sixty seconds, trying to keep note of how many seconds were ticking by as his 'patients' continued with their tasks.

Eventually, the ten-minute mark was reached. Edwards wrote down the time and sighed to himself. Before he could open his mouth to talk and tell the Delightful Children that they had worked for long enough, one of the children beat him on time.

"Doctor Edwards…?"

It was Bruce's voice, and he sounded _distressed_. Raising an eyebrow, the psychologist walked towards the kid who had called for his name. He didn't, however, fail to check the current state of the other Delightfuls. He noticed how David tosses became less frequent and Ashley's repels of the balls failing more and more often. He took a mental note of Lenny suddenly regressing his target skill to Stormtrooper-levels, and he guessed that similar problems were being experienced by Costance as well.

"Yes, Bruce? Did something change?" the doctor asked once he had reached the child's side. The blonde kid stood immobile and didn't turn around to look at him. He simply continued to stare at the piles of weights he had accurately been ordering until that moment.

"I... I think so…" he said. His voice was low, almost down to a whisper. Something was making him anxious.

Edwards' notepad was already on his hands. "Care to describe what you're feeling, if you can?"

"Yes, of course," Bruce confirmed his will to help without a moment's hesitation. He _hesitated,_ however, when he had to focus on what he was feeling. "Uhh… I don't know how to start… I… I _don't like it."_

Doctor Edwards scowled as he wrote down a few words. "I will ask you to make me a favour then, Bruce. This… feeling might be the key for my research and the ultimate improvement I've talked about with Mr. Uno. We need to pinpoint what it is… to do so, you have to make an effort and try to understand what exactly you're feeling right now."

" _I… I don't want to…"_

The psychologist almost jumped away with surprise. Had a Delightful Child just… refused to do a request from an adult?

Bruce immediately realized what kind of words had just escaped out of his mouth. "Wait! I didn't mean that! I'm sorry!" he stammered with fright, "I'll do it! Of course I will!"

Edwards recovered from the shock and patted the child's shoulder. "Calm down, Bruce. It was a question… we won't do it if you don't want to."

"No, I mean it! I don't know why I said that, but that wasn't what I wanted! I'll do it!"

Bruce's insistence somewhat worried the psychologist. He glanced over to the other Delightfuls, who were still immersed in their respective assignments, before replying: "Are you perhaps in fear of how your guardian would react if he came to know of this… refusal?" he asked inquisitively.

Bruce looked down in shame.

"Know this, Bruce. Everything that we'll do in this chamber will be confined here, for all I care. I'll only tell Father what he expects me to say… and you're free to tell him whatever you want. But everything else can and will remain a secret… we're still just at the start, and it is imperative for us to move forward if we want to get results _without_ these kinds of doubts."

Doctor Edwards kneeled down as Bruce forced himself to raise his head. "Do you understand?" he asked, looking right in the child's light blue eyes, another distinct feature of Father's children. After five, silent seconds, the kid nodded.

"Good. Therefore, are you willing to try to do what I asked you to?"

He nodded again.

"Very good. Sit down, Bruce, and focus. I don't want you to think about anything _but_ what you're feeling right now. Dig down… _and find it."_

After sitting on the nearest bench, Bruce did as he was ordered to. He closed his eyes and stopped to care about the noises around him, emitted by his siblings' activities. He wasn't completely extraneous to this kind of exercise: the Delightful Children had attended yoga lessons in the past and they believed it to be quite an inspiring hobby, much better than the mindless, noisy sports and games that kids their age often preferred… especially if talking about the Kids Next Door.

But, as usual, it was the Delightful Children who had learned how to practice meditation the oriental way. Not Bruce, the Delightful Child.

A new door was opened before the child's eyes. Slowly, he began to be able to discern the various emotions he was feeling right now. Surprise, confusion, determination.

 _Fear._

Doctor Edwards was considering whether to go check out how the other Delightful Children were doing when he heard the child near him let out a little yelp. "Bruce?" he asked with concern. "Is there something wrong?"

The child didn't answer. Bruce was hiding his face behind his hands now, and Doctor Edwards furrowed his brows. "Bruce, listen. No need to keep on, it's enough for this morning, even today," he reassured as he came to the child's height.

"It… it _won't stop…"_ Bruce words were almost coughed out. He seemed on the verge of breaking down on the spot.

"What? What is not stopping?"

"It's growing… _I can't stop it!"_

Doctor Edwards said something else, but his voice was no more hearable to the child. Even his vision became blurry, and whether it was from tears or a sudden loss of blood pressure remained a mystery for Bruce. There was only him… _and them._

* * *

 _"Fear. That's what you feel."_

 _"I… I have to…"_

 _"No, you don't have to. He's messing with us. He's messing with Father's model of perfection."_

 _"No! He's an adult! He's not an enemy! We owe him respect!"_

 _"We owe him nothing. Fear… that's what you feel… or is it? It's not fear now… not anymore._

 _"It's pain."_

* * *

Doctor Edwards was an experienced psychologist and had to work with quite several cases concerning young kids of all ages and genres, including the ones who caused his past contrasts with the Kids Next Door. Everything considered, he believed himself to be decent in his field, so to speak, and for the last couple of years he had believed that nothing could take him aback on the job again.

He was wrong.

After trying to talk with the child twice without result, Edwards almost fell backwards when Bruce _screamed._ He managed to keep himself on his legs, and his mind raced to every bit of knowledge that could be useful to help the boy out before his condition could worsen.

Yet, as his eyes fell on Bruce, Doctor Edwards was greeted by a scene that left him speechless. Ashley, Costance, David and Lenny were now right on Bruce's sides, alternatively patting his shoulders and keeping physical contact. Bruce himself was trying his best to suffocate the sobs that were escaping out of his mouth, with scarce results.

Edwards simply let them have their moment. A grade in psychology wasn't needed to understand that whatever happened wasn't pleasant and that a few seconds of rest would have done the kid good. He, anyway, used the time to look at the various kids. The girls as well as the other two boys donned frowns, and the muscles on their faces' skin were tensed up.

He knew that they had felt **it,** too.

After a couple of minutes, Edwards decided to break the ice. "Ahem… children?"

The Delightful Children shot up to attention, standing upright… _together in their group formation._

" _We're sorry!"_ they said coordinately, _"We're sorry we weren't able to do what you asked us to! It won't happen again, we promise!"_

Edwards raised a hand, and the Delightfuls ceased their ramble. "Children… what I want you to do is not simply fulfil my requests without arguing. We're all trying to reach a common end… and we are to help each other to do so. From now on, everytime I ask you to do something that might result in something… distasteful, you are to not feel obliged to follow my favours. Please, deny anything that may bother you to this point. Got it?"

The Delightful Children nodded their heads. Edwards looked at them one by one, and spent five seconds to look at Bruce's face. His expression was now a copy of the ones of the other four children… one would have said they were identical, if it wasn't for the humid tracks over the short boy's cheeks left by rebellious tears that refused to stop coming out of his eyes.

"I was my mistake to believe you could handle such a test so quickly, and from that I'm sorry," he said grimly. "From now on, I promise that we'll proceed with the therapy little step by little step, and that I will do everything possible to prevent something like this to happen again."

Doctor Edwards turned away from his five patients. "You've done more than enough for today. You're dismissed, Delightful Children," he said before moving away from the group, his attention once more caught by his omnipresent notebook.

The five mentioned children simply looked at the man as he made his way to the desk where Costance had been working on previously, he freed the table a little and sit down to continue his writing comfortably. Only after that they had the will to step away and walk over to the exit of the makeshift gym.

Father had told them that he wanted a full report of their first session later that day, after his return from his villainous job at lunch.

They knew that doing so would be much more difficult than could've ever thought.

* * *

 _The Delightful Children may indeed be my most difficult case yet. My hypothesis about their coordination being not a result of over-education but instead a more serious consequence of the Delightfulization process was pretty much confirmed today… and there might be something deeper than that as well. Whatever happened to the children today wasn't normal, and no matter how much Uno thinks his children are already as nice as ever, it is not okay. It must be either eliminated… or, even better, controlled._

 _We have a lot of work to do._


	3. Upgrade

_**.**_

 _Chapter 3_

 **Upgrade**

"ABBY! CATCH!"

Numbuh Five raised her hand and closed her fingers on the handle of the flying GUMZOOKA. She, thus, aimed the weapon and opened fire on the nearest Delightful, but David was quicker than her and he went behind cover before the gummy rounds could hit their target.

Instead of keeping the suppression on him, Abigail whirled around, checking her back for possible surprise attacks, and indeed she saw a fist moving towards her face. She barely blocked Lenny's attack and promptly shoved him away, preparing to fire her weapon at him, but Numbuh Four tackled the Delightful before she could do so, sending both himself and Lenny rolling on the floor.

Abigail narrowed her eyes and granted herself two seconds to think over the current situation. "Numbuh Two!" she called, "We need something more powerful! Get a move on yourself and FIND IT!"

"I'm on it!" came the 2x4 officer's reply. Until that moment Hoagie had basically been furnishing Wallabee and Abigail with 2x4 gadgets. Along with Numbuh One he was one of the two members of sector V who knew most of the secrets hidden inside the treehouse, including the emergency weapon stores that dotted the hallways. David and Lenny had been stealing or breaking every piece of KND technology the operatives tried to use against them, so both Numbuh Four and Five needed fresh supplies to keep the advantage in the fight.

The only problem with the idea was that the Delightfuls knew of the operatives' tactic too: they never let Numbuh Two get away by himself, always managing to repel their current foe and moving to block the operative's path. They had stalled him for seven minutes straight while bringing the fight further and further from the hangar and Kuki and Nigel's last seen location.

Numbuh Five had had enough of how things were going _. We can't let them continue to stop Numbuh Two and pull us away from Numbuh One and Three. This has to end now!_

As she expected, David suddenly left his cover and ran towards Numbuh Two, firing wildly with his stolen MUSKET. Numbuh Five retaliated with her own gun, but she also moved to intercept the Delightful Child. She knew that Numbuh Two was already running down the corridor: she only needed to keep David at bay for a few moments and he would lose sight of him. Then, Hoagie would have had full freedom to grab whatever weird machine of his that could help them out.

Because, as much as she didn't like to think that way, they _needed it badly._

"You aren't going _anywhere!"_ Numbuh Five cried, letting a little surge of Wally-like adrenaline flow through her muscles. She dropped the GUMZOOKA and, ignoring the mustard splattering over her face, she charged at the running David. The Delightful's pursuit of Numbuh Two had now shifted into a running escape: for a second, he thought that he could actually make it without a scratch.

But, as much as he was fitter than he used to be, his calculations proved erroneous and Abigail's fist landed into his side. The Delightful Child grunted in pain and lost his balance, stumbling on the ground and falling on the floor, losing his MUSKET in the process. Numbuh Five stole the 2x4 arm back and prepared to add a little sauce to the Delightful Sandwich.

However, she had failed to keep in mind that there was another Delightful in the surroundings. She, thus, didn't see the kick that hit her on the back _hard,_ followed by a punch right on the cheek. Numbuh Five teetered on the floor, dazed by the hit, as Lenny walked around her cracking his knuckles.

"You little- COME BACK HERE!" saying that Wallabee was furious would've been an understatement. A foe escaping from a fight was hard enough to tolerate, but if that escape was for a cowardly surprise attack on a fellow operative… now, that was _infuriating._

Lenny and David had just enough time to position themselves before Numbuh Four reached them. Oblivious to the disadvantage of a 2vs1 melee, he attacked the Delightfuls full frontal and began storming them with everything he got. They, however, weren't taken aback by his move. They were _prepared._

 _Darn it, Wally. I told you, we can't let them fight together!_ Abigail thought angrily as she witnessed the battle while trying to reclaim control of her aching body. _Boy, that hurt though…_

She looked down the wooden corridor in search of the chubby operative, but Numbuh Two was no more in sight. _I hope you can get your hands on something of use, Hoagie… before they beat us to smithereens._

Thus, she shook her head and freed her mind from the last bits of dizziness before rushing to the help of Numbuh Four. As expected, David turned around way before he could even _think_ she was coming, but Numbuh Five had stopped being surprised by it long ago. She knew that, as long as the other Delightful was around, he would be formidably efficient in predicting her moves… like he always _knew_ what she was doing, regardless of where he was looking.

That wasn't stopping her from trying, though. And, thus, the previous couples resumed their respective duels, with Lenny battling Numbuh Four and Numbuh Five going all-in with David. Yet, the odds were now in favour of the Delightful Children: the two of them easily took care of any of the operatives' attacks and stood their ground, keeping themselves on the line of sight of each other.

Their elegant dance-like way of fighting slowly had the better of both Abigail and Wallabee, who got more and more tired. Eventually, the fatigue made them make a mistake each.

Numbuh Five could do nothing as her fist went forward through nothing but air and her legs betrayed her, making her stumble and giving David all the time he wanted to elbow her. With a direct hit on the _neck._

This time, instead of pain Numbuh Five felt _nothing._ With the sudden loss of response from her body, she found herself wondering why she didn't lose consciousness on the spot. The Delightful had hit her with the precise intent to hurt… there was no doubt about it. She almost _feared_ the moment were the feelings would return to her.

Abigail gritted her teeth as the senses slowly came back to her and she did her best to ignore the pain. She groggily tried to move and understand where she was right now: she was lying on the floor… and she had lost her hat. She wasn't sure what of the two was worse, but she had her answer once she opened her eyes and saw the figure of David towering over her.

"How unfortunate it is to find yourself cornered, Abigail?" he asked. He didn't even try to mask the smirk.

She groaned and didn't give him the satisfaction of a reply. Her lack of reaction, however, didn't seem to annoy him. "Tsk. Typical Kids Next Door pride… how about this, Abigail: you stay where you are like a good-behaving girl and tell us where we can find your overweight teammate, and we won't have to resort to… unpleasant ways to make you spill the beans."

He moved sideward a little, letting Numbuh Five see a scene that made her blood run cold: Numbuh Four was on the ground, but unlike her he was completely restrained by Lenny. The Delightful had a foot on his back and both of Wallabee's arms were held by him. Whatever evil expression was on Lenny's face remained hidden by his mask, but he was looking at her without a doubt. Once he noticed her look of fear, he rotated a little the grip on Wallabee's arms… and as a result, he wrung them.

Abigail flinched as she heard Numbuh Four let out a yelp. He shut his eyes into a frown and whispered what could only be mean as supreme vows of vengeance… yet, despite his best efforts, he couldn't hide what was flowing out of his eyes.

He was _crying._

Abby couldn't lie to herself. Wally was one of the most stubborn, yet courageous boy she had ever known… and here he was, with tears coming down his cheeks as Lenny twisted his arms a little more. She couldn't even fathom how much pain the Delightful Child was inflicting to the operative.

In that very moment, it dawned on her how much in **trouble** they really were.

She'd have tried to insult them, to beg them to stop, to attempt a desperate attack… but someone got the last one done before she even decided what to do. Numbuh Two's way cry was accompanied by his thundering footsteps as he came charging full force with a couple of SCAMPPs rifle on both hands and a backpack supporting a mobile turret on his back!

"HANG ON, GUYS! I'M COMING!"

* * *

One-hundred seconds later, Hoagie lay on the floor defeated, his equipment littering the floor around him with varying states of decay. Lenny and David stood nearby, cleaning their hands and huffing. They had little more than a couple of bruises as their own injuries.

"Did you seriously expect to win against us, Hoagie?" Lenny questioned with what sounded like sincere wonder. "Two against one… and against _us._ You've never stood a chance."

Abigail and Wallabee lay on the floor away from their squad-mate, too injured and weakened to be able to do anything at all. Wallabee was trying his best to get up, but every attempt to pull himself up resulted only in a groan of pain, while Abigail simply stared at the two Delightfuls and the beaten operative below them.

 _Hoagie… don't do it… don't answer…_ she thought, hoping that Hoagie wouldn't do the error to annoy them and thus securing a ration of the same kind of treatment they gave to Numbuh Four for himself.

But Numbuh Two didn't fire a jab at the Delightfuls like she expected. Instead, his mouth let out a chuckle, to the confusion of both the operatives and their enemies.

"Haha… ha… _*cough*,"_ Hoagie laughed. "You're still the same deep down, after all."

"What are you talking about?" David demanded with his fingers trembling, ready to go and punish him at a moment's notice.

"It's simple. You Delightful Children are still naïve. Did you really think I'd try to attack by himself just like that? I know you hate me and all, but you should know by now I'm not _that_ stupid."

The Delightful Children gave a fast glance to each other.

"That was the main plan, alright… as much as Numbuh One says I don't, I know how precious the treehouse is for all of us, and I in fact tried to beat you two even if I was sure I couldn't do it by myself."

The Delightfuls made a step back as they started to get worried.

"The _real_ plan, though, is guaranteed to work… sorry, Delightfuls!" Hoagie ended his speech savouring the looks of fright that David and Lenny were giving around the corridor, in search of a trap of whatever the boy could have prepared for them. But the hallway was empty, and Hoagie knew it himself.

"What trickery is this?" David shouted, "Are you joking with us, Hoagie?! We'll make sure you _regret_ ever making fun of us if you did!"

Hoagie slowly stood up, unmoved by the Delightful's threat. "Not in the slightest," he simply said. When he materialized a remote in his hands, Numbuh Five and Four immediately knew what they had to do: get _out._

Lenny stared at Hoagie wide-eyed. "Is that supposed to scare us off? There's nothing here!" he spluttered, his voice revealing his nervousness.

"Oh, don't you know? The treehouse's a maze… and we got space both above and below us," Hoagie said, grinning.

He pressed the button, and the explosives went off.

* * *

Numbuh Three and Numbuh One walked down a hallway of the treehouse, their three captors behind them. They had already gone up various levels inside the giant tree, and Numbuh One was sure that the rest of his team was way too far to be of any help at this point. He guessed that Abby, Wally and Hoagie had had more than one problem in dealing with the remaining two Delightfuls.

He wouldn't have been surprised, given how fast Bruce, Ashley and Costance had _crushed_ him and Numbuh Three.

The Delightful Children had requested him to guide them to the briefing room, in particular the secondary one they used to receive transmissions from moonbase and other sectors. What they wanted to do was left unknown for the moment, but Nigel knew better than to inquire more, especially considering that Ashley's staff continued to keep him pinned, prodding him every now and them from behind to remind him of who was in charge.

He gave a glance to Numbuh Three, and his face's features hardened. Nigel was pretty sure that he wasn't exactly in the best shape as well, but seeing _Kuki_ of all people in that state was a stunning spectacle: her green sweater had a couple of fresh new tears, while one of her eyes was encircled by a blackened area of skin. A few bruises were scattered on the rest of her face as well. _Numbuh Four is not going to like this… that's for sure._

Nigel wasn't on edge just because of what the Delightfuls had done to Kuki. He knew that there had not been any need to go that hard on the Asian girl back in the hangar… but here she was with a black eye. Not once in his carrier in the Kids Next Door he had encountered villains as ruthless as the Delightful Children had acted that day. They were as unpredictable as ever, merciless and easily provoked. Granted, there was a fair amount of times where people had basically tried to kill them, and one of those people was the guardian of the Delightfuls themselves…

…but feeling joy in inflicting pain just for the sake of it? That was new… and frightening.

Thinking of a plan to get him and Kuki out of this was proving to be far harder than he had thought it could be at first.

He was now aware of how the Delightful Children were able to predict every one of their moves in a fight as long as one of them kept the operatives under his or her sight, but he didn't know how they obtained such an ability. Nigel wondered how that did happen… also because he believed that knowing its cause would have helped him in his search for a weak point. They _needed_ to find a way to fight back, or else-

"Very, very well… here we are," Bruce's voice interrupted Numbuh One's thoughts. They had finally reached the briefing room: the chamber was mostly empty except for a few scraps of 2x4 materials and, of course, the huge screen and the large keyboards of the computer. The operative was once again prodded to move until he was right in front of it.

"Nigel, would you kindly turn the system on? I'm sure it won't take too much for you do to so," Bruce asked.

"What if I say no?" Numbuh One blurted out. He felt wind twirling near him, then Ashley's staff came on his hand. "OW!"

"That was a rhetorical question, brat. Do it," Ashley specified, rotating her polearm back skillfully. "Do it, _or else."_

"Alright, alright…" Nigel confirmed quickly. He had to play it cool… if he kept getting his hands battered, he would've ended up being incapacitated to do anything but running.

He walked over to the nearest keyboard and sighed. Whatever they wanted to do in the briefing room, it couldn't be any good… and since that was the location of the direct link with moonbase, he could even make a few hypothesises about what the Delightfuls had in their minds.

 _Link to moonbase? Wait… Yes, the SOS!_ Nigel's morale suddenly shot up. If he managed to send a distress call to Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two, he was sure she would send in reinforcements from either the nearest sector or moonbase itself. He just had to distract the Delightfuls and-

"One thing, Nigel," Costance's voice came a little out of nowhere, since she had mostly stayed silent up until that moment. "We _know_ how your so-called 2x4 tech works, and we know what are the main functions of the computer here. Therefore, please… don't ask for help and make us do something I'm sure you don't want us to do to either you or sweet Kuki here… hmm?"

Numbuh One swallowed his idea down. _Darn it!_

"Quit fooling around! Turn it on!" Ashley commanded again as she prodded Nigel's back. The operative was left without options: he kneeled down and activated a switch under the keyboards' surface, thus starting the boot-up process. The screen turned on as the usual text messages of the makeshift operating system began to scroll down.

He could try to send the call anyway… it was a real shame that the computer was programmed to print on the screen whatever was done, including the transmission of messages. _Note to self: tell Numbuh Two to fix this if we ever survive today._

"Set up a link with the Kids Next Door's lunar treehouse, Nigel," Bruce ordered, and the operative did as he was told. That was needed for the distress call as well… only a few digits separated him from success.

When _'connection established'_ appeared on the screen, Ashley moved and seized the operative from behind, placing her staff below his chin not dissimilarly from what he did to her minutes before before. "Move!" she said as she dragged him away from the keyboard. Numbuh One could only comply with her orders as he was brought towards Numbuh Three, who was kept under sight by Costance and her SCAMPP.

"Thank you, Nigel," Bruce said with a hateful smile as he walked towards the screen. "From now on, we'll just let Father's pen drive do its magic."

"What are you going to do, Bruce?" Numbuh One questioned. "Planting a virus? The system is unbreakable… you're not going to achieve anything."

"How true… not," Bruce's smiled didn't leave his face for one moment. "There's no virus here… but the finest piece of 2x4 based spyware, built by the contribution of Father's most skilled employees and a few willing volunteers from the teens' ranks. It won't damage your system, yes, but it will infect the network of the KND and the drives inside your beloved moonbase. Once there, it'll send all the info it will be able to find before being detected back to Father. He really wanted to get to know you a little better… and frankly, I don't get him."

 _I don't get him._ Said from a Delightful Child, while referring to Father himself.

Getting used to the new Delightful Children was taking a little longer than he expected, it seemed.

"But it's still Father's will, and we'll do as he pleases," Bruce ended his speech. He drew out the mentioned pen drive, ready to insert it into the computer, but before he could do so, he froze.

Numbuh One thought at first that the Delightful had suddenly had a heart attack: his eyes suddenly became vacuous, and his arms fell down. It fully looked like he had suddenly left the real world.

He also noticed how the pressure of the staff over his skin loosened, to the point that Ashley simply let go of him. Confused, Numbuh One turned around and found himself face to face with the Delightful Girl: her face was completely void of emotion and focus just like Bruce's. This close, the sight was creepy to say the least, and he couldn't help but gulp.

He looked towards Numbuh Three and noticed how Costance shared the same lost look of the other two Delightfuls… they were, somehow, out of the world, and Numbuh One knew that this was a chance they simply couldn't let go to waste.

He looked at Kuki. Numbuh One didn't know whether the girl was still willing to keep fighting or not… she had been looking down the floor for almost the entire time. But then, she raised her head and nodded at Nigel. She was with him.

Thus, they both shoot out to action. Their sudden movement alerted the Delightfuls, but whatever had made them lose control of themselves left them in a state of dizziness… it was now the Kids Next Door's turn to _dance._

Ashley received a fist right in the face and was knocked down without notice. Costance's SCAMPP disappeared from her hands and a laser round headshotted her right after, sending the girl tumbling on the floor.

Bruce shook his head and growled in anger. "You had one chance to be nice, Nigel!" he bellowed before charging forward, but Numbuh One was already prepared and he blocked his incoming punch with both of his hands. He could only utter a dumbfounded 'huh?' before another laser round knocked him away.

With the three Delightfuls temporarily out, Numbuh One knew he had just about the time needed to do what he wanted. He ran to the keyboard and started typing a precise series of inputs. _'SOS call sent, awaiting response…'_ was printed on the briefing room's screen right after.

 _Don't fail me, Rachel!_ Nigel thought as he whirled around just in time to see the rotating staff of a fuming Ashley coming to take him out. He avoided the polearm easily and immediately began running, leaving behind himself the Delightful and the curses she shouted at him.

"Numbuh Three, move!" he ordered as he passed beyond the still unconscious Costance. Kuki fired a couple of beams at Ashley to maintain suppression fire before rushing away herself to follow him.

The Delightful Children didn't immediately go for the pursuit as Kuki and Nigel expected. Bruce stood up, massaging his head, and a few seconds later Costance reopened her eyes. She sat up, fixed her glasses and groaned when she lightly touched the scorched skin. Ashely gritted her teeth, the grip on the staff iron-like, but she remained immobile.

"You felt it too, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes. David and Lenny are in trouble," Bruce stated. "We have to go to their aid."

Costance nodded, but she glanced at the screen. "Agreed, but look at that. Moonbase knows. How much time do we have?"

"Too little," Bruce replied. He looked thoughtfully at the screen. "They may send other sectors to help or deploy a rescue platoon directly from space, but in either case they won't wait for long. Sector V's known as one of the most successful sectors in the Kids Next Door, I'm afraid… they will answer accordingly to an SOS request coming from _them._ Forty-five minutes… that's all we have. After that, the Kids Next Door may arrive anytime."

Ashley growled, unable to control herself. She raised the staff and started to pound the nearest objects she could find. _"DAMMIT!"_ she cursed again as she swatted a leftover piece of 2x4 equipment.

She only stopped when she felt a hand touching her shoulder. The polearm was lowered, and Ashley turned her head to face Bruce.

"Ashley… we've not failed yet," he said neutrally. "There's no need to lose your temper. I know what you're feeling right now… we _all_ do. They will get what they deserve soon enough… we're too close. Just… hold on a little more."

Ashley looked at Bruce without a word for a few, long seconds before finally releasing a liberating sigh. Her grip on the staff loosened.

Costance nodded. "We still need to be fast. Let's finish our business here and go for the kill."

"No."

Costance raised an eyebrow, but Bruce simply looked at her neutrally while shaking his head. "We don't have enough time for everything. We'll have plenty of opportunities in the future to steal the data Father wants, but this chance may be the only one we have before the entirety of the Kids Next Door knows… of us. I am willing to face Father's rightful wrath… as long as Sector V ceases to exist for _good._ Without them their pathetic organization will most probably be no more a problem for us, and even if this is not true… they've been a thorn in our side for far too long."

The stout girl scratched her chin before nodding her agreement. Ashley scowl slowly faded away, leaving space for a disturbing grin.

"Aye. Let's get Lenny and David back, then… it will be the _end_ for them!" she finally said, placing the staff on her back.

Thus, the Delightfuls finally bolted away, running fast through the corridor previously chosen by Numbuh One and Three. Their steps soon dimmed out in the distance, leaving the room silent if not for the buzzing of the active computer.

Seconds later, a bip was emitted by the machine, and another line of text appeared on the screen above the first one.

 _Hang on, Sector V. We're coming!_

* * *

Father had mixed thoughts about the spectacle going on in front of him. On one hand, the choice of the gym-like chamber made by his new employee now made sense… on the other, he really wanted to reduce him to a heap of ash right now.

"Edwards, I thought you were going to help the Delightful Children become better fighters, not try to change them into high-rated athletes," he growled, sending a glare to the doctor standing beside him. The self-proclaimed expert of the mind had abandoned the neutral clothes he had been using the previous few weeks and now wore a white lab coat. Father wasn't quite sure why he wanted to use such an attire in what was more comparable to a coach's work, but despite the hostile gaze the villain threw at him Edwards didn't budge.

He hated having to do with people than didn't fear him.

"We are doing much more than simple battle training, Mr. Uno, and trust me – I believe that the battle skills have improved as well. As for the display, well… that's just part of my method. Physical exertion can do wonders when used in the right way even for the psychological sphere of an individual. What we're trying to achieve, Mr. Uno, concerns…"

Father snorted and returned his gaze to the Delightful Children, ignoring the successive explanations of the unsupportable man. The five were currently immersed in an obstacle course, full of various obstructions and barriers Edwards had requested them to go _through,_ not pass by. He observed as Bruce jumped over a hurdles series and Costance rammed her shoulder into a hay wall, continuing her run unstopped. He saw Ashley lifting herself agilely up a series of high steps, David crawling into a tunnel and Lenny jumping from a tire-like contraption to the other.

"…and that's pretty much a fast synthesis of what I am doing, Mr. Uno."

"Huh? Yeah, right," Father dismissed quickly Edwards ramblings. He didn't need shrink-talk to judge his work. "You're still a long way to show me actual _'improvement',_ Edwards. I don't see something that could be defined as that here."

The Doctor sighed, but his face suddenly lighted up. "The next obstacle set might be exactly what you want to see, Mr. Uno. I ask you to watch closely… just this once."

The man sounded sincere, so Father decided that he would grant him another chance before giving him the ultimatum of either leaving the Mansion at once or have his face scorched. He narrowed his eyes and looked as the Delightfuls ran towards what seemed like nothing out of the ordinary: an obstacle made of two large, smooth wooden boards attached to each other on the top, making it look like two cards leaning on each other.

He had to give it to the shrink – choosing an exercise taken straight from military boot camps was one weird way of doing psychology therapy. Really, it only lacked a couple of ropes and he could have sold it to a cinema troupe working on a random war movie.

He crossed his arms and waited for his children to act. David and Lenny fastened, leaving the other three Delightfuls behind, and they were the first to reach the obstacle. They stopped right at the base of the first wooden board and they exchanged a quick glance without a single word, before looking behind them.

Ashley was the third Delightful Child that arrived in front of the obstacle: she didn't open her mouth to talk as well but didn't slow down, running towards Lenny and David. The two boys waited until the very last second to make their move: they both extended their arms down and opened their hands just as Ashley raised one of her feet. The girl's foot landed over the boys' palms and, as Ashley lifted herself over them, both David and Lenny lifted her upwards.

The Delightful Girl tried to jump, using her only leg to proper herself towards the top of the obstacle. The jump barely let her clutch on the upper edge of the wooden board, and Ashley visibly had to exert herself to keep the hold. With a groan, she managed to pull herself enough to grab the edge with her other hand and, in a few moments, she reached the peak.

She didn't go down the other side, though: she simply remained where she was in wait. It was now Bruce's turn, who followed her taller sister's lead. While his limited height might have been a problem, Ashley had awaited him for a reason: she offered her hand when the boy jumped with the other two boys' aid and she clutched on his before pulling him over. He didn't leave the top as well once there, but kept straddling with Ashley. Only one Delightful was left.

Costance wasn't fat, but she wasn't thin either, and she indeed was the shortest out of the Delightful Children. Thus, when she finally arrived to join her siblings, David and Lenny didn't try to raise her like they did with Ashley and Bruce: they simply picked her up by her shoulders and lifted her. Costance stretched her arms upwards and grabbed Bruce's and Ashley's hands, who managed to lift her over with their combined strength.

At that point, most of the task had been done. Ashley left herself slide down to the other side, while Bruce and Costance helped the last two Delightfuls climb the wooden board. David helped Lenny reach the helping hands of their siblings first, while he himself didn't need any help since he was enough tall to jump and reach them by himself. In no time, all the five of them were on the other side, up and running towards the next test.

Father moved his pipe to the other side, his face an undecipherable mask, as the doctor couldn't help clapping his hands. "Not a word spoken… yet, they knew exactly what to do and how to coordinate themselves… fascinating, isn't it?"

 _Fascinating… or creepy?_ Father thought to himself. He instead said, "Well, I don't see where the big deal is, Freud. My children have always been connected to each other, I didn't need _you_ to understand that."

The doctor hummed his agreement. "Not _this connected,_ though… isn't that true?" he specified.

Father couldn't bring himself to lie, and he nodded. "No, not like this…"

In fact, that was the main reason why he was there in the first place.

It had been three weeks since the start of the therapy, and he had not failed to notice the _change_ in his Delightful Children. More and more often he saw them out of the group formation he had grown accustomed to, doing their own _personal_ things by themselves. He saw them talk to each other one-to-one, each one of them having different conversations, and more and more times he saw one or two of them approach him by themselves when they needed to talk with him.

Poor Bruce was scared to heck when Father almost exploded in a cloud of flames upon hearing the child's voice behind himself… he had been _surprised_ by his call because he didn't recognize his voice and he thought that the Kids Next Door were making a surprise attack… he had heard a kid talk behind him, after all. That was how much he was used to hear them speaking together.

Father had tried to ignore the annoying feeling of unease the entire ordeal gave him at first, but eventually he had to face the facts and accept that his children were changing. Was that for the better or the worse?

Well, understanding _that_ was what he hoped to do by assisting to one of the therapy sessions himself.

"I understand your uncertainties, Mr. Uno," the doctor continued to talk, "and I know what kind of improvements you actually expect from your children. There _is_ something that may be able to free your mind of your last doubts, in fact… a showcase of sorts, that I'm sure will be able to impress you, even if only a little."

"And that would be?" Father inquired.

"You'll see, Mr. Uno, you'll see," the doctor smiled mischievously. God, how he wanted to headshot him with a fire ball…

…unfortunately, that had to wait until _after_ he understood what was going on with his children.

"Children, that's enough!" the doctor shouted. "It's time for the _theatre act!"_

The Delightful Children stopped their run and took a few seconds to catch their breaths before nodding their heads towards Father and Dr. Edwards and walking away in five different directions. Father looked at the psychologist with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh," the psychologist said once he noticed the interrogative gaze of the villain, "'theatre act' is just the name the children gave to what they're going to show you, Mr. Uno. It's mostly their idea, actually... I only helped them in deciding what would have been most adequate to exhibit their new abilities, but the rest is their personal work."

He grunted and waited for the Delightfuls to do whatever they needed to do. They only took a couple of minutes to prepare, after which they went right in the centre of the chamber. They nodded again at Edwards before turning towards Father and… bowing.

 _Well, that's something I like._

The Delightfuls stood upright and Bruce drew out a remote of sorts which he wasted no time in activating. He, thus, let the thing fall down, and the five kids put themselves in what looked like a defensive position.

Father felt vibrations going through the floor, and before he knew it a series of trap-doors were opened all around the place.

"What in the name of Grandfather, curse his name, is _going on?!"_ he shouted in surprise. Dr. Edwards stayed silent, simply taking in the view, and Father, too stunned to demand more explanations, simply did the same.

From the various trapdoors robotic creatures of all sorts emerged. Father recognized a few of the robots: he could see, for example, a couple of robo-knights coming from the army he once had garrisoning the mansion. Even so, he had no idea about most of the contraptions. "Edwards… you may want to explain yourself before I lose every bit of patience I've left," he said ominously once he managed to recover himself.

"They're leftovers, Mr. Uno," he simply explained. "Remnants of your children's past plans and such… that's what they've told me, at least. Again, it is all their handwork you're seeing right now."

Father felt a little peeved by the fact the Delightful Children had taken things from his stuff without asking. Granted, 'his stuff' in this case was their personal garbage storage room in the lower level of the mansion, but still!

Instead of yelling at them and letting his anger loose, Father simply looked at the robots which were slowly moving towards his children. He quickly put two and two together and, suddenly, the 'theatre act' became much more interesting to his eyes.

The robots started to attack even before reaching the Delightfuls. They swung, thrusted and agitated their melee weapons as the few bots that had ranged firearms fired away. Father even recognized Kids-Next-Door contraptions here and there: it looked like the Delightful Children had just fallen into the nth trap set up by the five brats in the treehouse down the other side of the lane.

But this time, the Delightful Children didn't quiver in fright, scream in terror or run for their lives, no. They smiled for a moment as the first volley was shot, then they sprang into action.

And Father had to catch his pipe, lest it fell to the ground.

The Delightful Children battle with the robot mob could only be described as a fine, elegant _dance._ Bruce, Costance, Ashley, David and Lenny moved around agilely, gracefully evading every thrust, projectile or metal punch that tried to hit them. Their legs and hands were always in the right place, their position followed a precise set of rules, their attacks were never random.

They moved like they were one… no, not like _before._ Before they were simply coordinated. Father saw that his children were still acting independently as they had been doing lately, yet every one of their actions and moves complimented the ones of the others. He saw Ashley extend a leg and David push a robot forward, who toppled down. Before it could get up, Bruce left a blade stolen from another downed bot fall on it, cutting through its chest and sending electric sparks all around the place.

They were a spectacle to behold. Father had to admit it.

 _He was impressed._

The 'theatre act' ceased just as quickly as it had begun. The last robot fell down with a hole through its stomach and the Delightful Children finally stopped moving. They stood upright for a moment, breathing heavily and trying to recover a little energy. Seeing his children in the new exercise outfits they had requested themselves, sweaty and tired with even a few bruises over their faces, but an entire army of robotic fighters lying beaten at their feet, made Father feel… proud?

He wasn't sure. What he was sure about, though, was that the Delightful Children were becoming a force to be reckoned with.

The five kids eventually moved towards Father and the psychologist and put themselves in a line. They bowed their heads again respectfully at the two bystanders.

"Terrific, Delightful Children," Edwards acclaimed, clapping his hands for the second time. "This was a wonderful spectacle, no doubt about it. I am truly amazed by how far you've come… I'm sure you can see that too, now, Mr. Uno. Do you?"

Father didn't answer. He simply stared dumbfounded at the Delightful Children as they raised their heads and watched him with thoughtful, expectant gazes.

"Father," Bruce eventually said… by himself. He still needed to get used to that. "I hope you've appreciated the humble act we've just performed."

"You've seen, dear Father, that we now are far better in handling ourselves," Lenny continued, his crossed arms the only clue about his current feelings given the football mask.

"And this is just the start of it all… when we'll be finally ready, the Kids Next Door will have no chance against us. Not anymore!" Ashley hit her chest with a closed fist to show she was dead serious.

"We're all positive about it, I'd add," Costance specified. "No serious doubt about it, Father… we shall be victorious!"

"To reach this achievement, we will need the help of your new employee for more time. So, please, Father…" David said, holding his hands into a begging gesture. His siblings did the same.

" _Could you please let us continue and finish the treatment?"_

Somehow, hearing their synchronized voice once again reassured Father. It told him that Edwards wasn't trying to strip his children of their Delightful status… it was still them, the children he had created so long ago… a bit different in certain ways for sure, but them. They were simply more… individual. Separate. Indipendent.

A change that somehow granted them the power of sharing thoughts, it seemed. An ability that was pretty useful in combat, as Father had just witnessed to.

Edwards studied Father's face and didn't let himself celebrate even when the villain scratched his chin and started to talk.

"Well… I admit you're now more than capable than fighting, children. And that you were quite… awe-striking in your display," he said before turning his face towards the psychologist. "Is all of this an idea of yours, Freud?"

Edwards shook his head vehemently. "Your children do not share their complete will with me, Mr. Uno. Of that, you can be sure... believe me when I say I am as surprised as you by their request."

Father decided to choose not to believe him, but he returned his gaze to the Delightfuls, who he found were staring oddly at the psychologist. As soon as they noticed their guardian was looking at them, they immediately stood upright military-like and waited. In line… not their group formation.

"Is this true? Do you… do you _all_ really want to continue the sessions?" he questioned. The Delightful Children timidly nodded and waited for Father's decision about their future.

"This… this might actually work!" he eventually said.

Father chuckled. "Yes… I cannot think of a way the accursed Kids Next Door could see this coming. I take that your new… behaviour is not known at school, isn't it?"

The children nodded their confirmation. They were better than sharing about the therapy with their schoolmates… especially if a lot of them were KND operatives or moles at the service of the brats.

"Then, I'll let you finish your therapy." Father snapped his fingers. His decision was _final._

"You may have reached notable results, Dr. Edwards," Father proceeded to specify a little addendum to his sentence. "Your job here is far from finished, though. End whatever you're doing and let my Delightful Children reach their _full potential…_ And maybe, just maybe, I will let you leave the mansion without a single burn."

"It will be done, Mr. Uno. You have my word," Edwards quickly confirmed. He kept his mouth shut afterwards… somehow, he knew that he better had to stay silent now.

Father slowly start to laugh. A laugh that changed into an evil cackle. When he stopped, he noticed that his children had been laughing as well… and they were continuing even without him. The five of them chortled wickedly, in a way Father had rarely seen them doing.

He knew exactly why they were doing so.

"Soon, very soon… the Kids Next Door will receive what they deserve for messing with my plans for so long… and when that will happen, they'll regret every single time they've dared challenge me and my Delightful Children!"

* * *

 _The 'theatre act' has been a success. Father was without a doubt pleased, and the Delightful Children are more confident of themselves than ever. We've made so much progress during the last month, way more than I'd ever have expected… the kids sure are the most difficult, yet most satisfying case of my career. When they say that the so-called Kids Next Door will not see what hit them, I see their logic. Everytime I see them train in combat they're a sight to behold… I do have a little hypothesis about the therapy having the secondary effect of unlocking dormant skills, which I guess originate from their predecessors… but that's just a theory._

 _I'd be lying to myself if I said I don't hope for them to succeed. The KND are a blind organization, and their young members were never able to see the bigger picture… if they couldn't see I was helping kids dealing with their problems, well… I've already seen that my current employer does._

 _We'll need more time with the therapy. I don't know how much… weeks, months… it'll depend on how fast we're going to move forward. I, however, feel like my patients are closer and closer to achieve full control of their connection. They have yet to suffer another episode like the one that unfortunately took place during the first session, and I now believe that they've learned how to avoid it. They sure are determined kids._

 _Yes… soon, all of this will come to an end. …I can't say I won't miss them._


	4. Side Effects

_._

 _Chapter 4_

 **Side Effects**

Numbuh One and Numbuh Three ran like they had an entire army of angry adults hot on their heels. A fitting metaphor, given the fact that they were _escaping_ from a threat that was comparable to such an image.

"Numbuh One, where are we going?" Kuki's huffing voice asked. Nigel threw a fast glance behind himself, seeing the Asian operative following him and the void behind her. They were alone… for now. He'd guessed that the Delightfuls wouldn't have waited for long before running after them… and he hoped they had no way to track them down with such a distance put between them.

But with the _new_ Delightful Children in the picture, every status quo he had believed in had been erased. He had to improvise.

The possible choices were numerous. The treehouse was a complicated maze full of hiding places and secret trapdoors, narrow passages and terraces where an ambush or a trap could be easily prepared along with various areas protected by automatic defence systems… but if Numbuh One knew one thing right now, it was that no matter how good of a 'welcome party' he and Numbuh Three could prepare they couldn't risk staying outnumbered. The Delightfuls were a hard enough match in equal numbers.

"We need to regroup with the rest of the team, Numbuh Three. They might be in need of our help… and we need theirs."

"Okay, but what about the… _them,_ Numbuh One?" Kuki asked as they reached an intersection of corridors and made a haste turn. "Do you think we can actually take them by surprise if the others are fighting with them?"

She had a point. There was the fact that the Delightfuls could basically see in every direction as long as there was more than one in the same area. They needed to find a way to take them aback, something that they couldn't expect at all and would affect their stunningly powerful battle abilities.

He thought back to what he had seen of the five perfect kids up until that moment. He recalled the talk in the hangar, the first fight, the capture of him and Kuki and the successive escape thanks to their…

Suddenly, everything became much clearer in Nigel's mind.

"Yes, there might be a way to do that, Numbuh Three. Follow my lead, we're heading for Numbuh Five's quarters: if I'm not mistaken we'll find something useful there!"

* * *

David and Lenny had gotten mad a lot of times during their life. Most of those times, their anger was turned towards the Kids Next Door, so it was no surprise to see them livid while watching the operatives that were openly mocking them at the moment.

However, the fact that they were tied to each other's backs, unable to move, and that Numbuh Two was throwing the worst jokes ever conceived by man or woman at them and acting all like he was a comedian genius... now, that was _infuriating._

Around them, it was complete chaos and destruction. The soda explosives planted by Numbuh Two had done their work… even more than the 2x4 specialist would have expected. Just a few meters away from the Delightfuls, the hallway stopped: the floor was interrupted by an enormous hole that effectively cut any way to reach the other side. The fracture went up and down in the wooden frame of the treehouse, and even the roof right over seemed to be damaged since there were moonlight beams coming through and illuminating the area. In fact, the moon was the main source of lightning, since most of the nearby lights had either been destroyed or cut off from the electrical network by the detonation.

Thus, the hallways over and below the one where the Delightfuls had confronted Numbuh Two were just as damaged as it, but the operative was too much preoccupied taunting the defeated perfects to care about the extent of the damage.

"Guess that _ties_ it up, doesn't it?" Hoagie repeated the same joke for the third time, making Lenny grit his teeth in a mixture of anger and annoyance, even though all Numbuh Two could see was his football helmet trembling. Next to the operative, Numbuh Four groaned.

"I know we're having a good time makin' fun of these dorks and all, but try to be a little less repetitive, Numbuh Two!" he protested, but Hoagie simply dismissed his words. "Aw, cut it out Wally, I'm sure our guests are enjoying their time here… they sure aren't going anywhere, I'd say they're _bond_ to the place!"

David twitched his body, trying to get free. Numbuh Four came in front of him and grinned as the Delightful continued to strain himself until he stopped in defeat and growled at the operative. "That has to teach ya' a lesson you won't forget, freak!"

David's eyes were partly covered by his hair, so Wallabee could only guess how hard the Delightful was frowning. However, what he couldn't imagine was the child doing the unthinkable: spitting. Before he knew it, Numbuh Four found himself with his face wet.

"What the _heck?!"_ Wallabee uttered in total bewilderment, stepping back. "What in the name of Numbuh Zero is wrong with you?!"

"Numbuh Four!" came the scolding voice of Numbuh Five, who had appeared out of nowhere and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's enough, leave them be."

"What!? Haven't you seen what he just-"?

"That's _why_ it's better to leave them alone. Focus, Numbuh Four! They ain't the same, don't you remember?"

Numbuh Four couldn't argue that sentence. He fired a glare to the offending Delighful, but David didn't budge under his gaze. Wallabee suddenly remembered how he had been pinned to the ground by the Delightfuls before… something that made him furious… but also somewhat _worried._

He knew what Numbuh Five meant. Once those demons were free, they were bound to catch them and make them pay without mercy. The thought of how far their desire to defeat them for good could go made a shiver run through the Aussie operative's spine.

He didn't want to underestimate then anymore, period.

Numbuh Two joined them, finally taking his attention away from the Delightfuls. "That goes for you as well, Numbuh Two. We have nothing to gain from making them madder than they already are."

"I was just doing a sort of test, Numbuh Five; to see what the deal was with them," Hoagie tried to justify his actions, but Abigail's glare was unmoved and Hoagie's awkward smile did nothing to make her reconsider her words.

"Let's forget about that and move on," Numbuh Five eventually sighed. "Listen, I just checked the control panel nearby and the thing is busted, so we don't have any way to communicate with the rest of the treehouse if not by finding another one… and I'm pretty sure we don't have time for that. Your spectacle here, Numbuh Two, has surely got the attention of the last three Delightfuls."

"Quite an entrapping distraction I'd say!" Numbuh Two chuckled, but quickly recomposed himself when Abigail kept the unimpressed look on her face. "Anyway… do you think that Numbuh Three and One may have taken advantage of my, uh… spectacle? It must have been quite a distraction, if they ever heard it."

"Hopefully," Numbuh Five replied, "but we have to be ready in case that didn't happen – we have no idea how far they were from this place when the explosives went off. And even if, the Delightfuls may beat them on time."

She turned towards the two prisoners. "We have to secure these two, we _can't_ let the others set them free."

"I know a couple of hiding places where we can store them in and throw the key away. I think that's got to teach them how to stay calm for a while!" Numbuh Four said, still brushing his cheeks with one of his sleeves since he was still trying to check if there were traces of saliva left on his face.

David was facing them, but that didn't stop Lenny from speaking up. "You aren't bringing us anywhere, Kids Next Door."

"Oh, you say so? Why is that, then?" Wallabee demanded, hands on his hips. "Think you can enlighten us?"

The enlightenment came in the form of a laser beam that struck him in the stomach, knocking him away.

"AMBUSH!" Numbuh Five barely had the time to shout the alarm before the attack began. A black wooden beam came out of nowhere towards her head and Abigail ducked down just in time to evade the incoming hit. She heard Hoagie's yelp and rotated her head to see him rolling on the floor with Bruce punching him in the face repeatedly. Then, her view was blocked by Ashely's figure.

"Hello, Abigail," she said before raising her staff and attacking with a lunge. Abigail moved back, keeping her eyes fixed on the Delightful, who simply continued to smile evilly.

"You're fighting back? How cute," she taunted before sprinting into action, this time swinging the staff multiple times. Numbuh Five would've really wanted to find an opening to counter-attack, but Ashley was too fast: Abby was too much worried trying to not receive a hit on the head and everytime she tried to move in for a punch, her hand was smacked away by the staff way before it could even be a threat.

In her focus, she could barely hear the fighting sounds around her. She listened to a war cry, probably courtesy of Wallabee, followed by sounds of SCAMPP rounds being fired. She even heard Hoagie shout a startled, "Don't' let her- OUCH!" that went interrupted by another punch in the gut.

Realizing the immediate danger, Abby's eyes moved to the tied up Delightfuls. With the three on three fight going on, they shouldn't have been able to go to their aid… couldn't they?

Before she could ponder any further, the staff moved again. This time, though, it was too fast even for her and it managed to land a hit on her side. Abby frowned as the distinct feeling of pain invaded her body, but she bit her lip and didn't let it distract her. She grabbed the staff with both hands, blocking it before Ashley could retract her weapon.

Yet, the Delightful girl reacted by abandoning the staff completely, letting a bewildered Numbuh Five keep it. She, of course, didn't let her have the time to start using it, since she immediately whirled around to gain momentum and kicked her right in the chest, sending the girl staggering backwards and making her drop the weapon.

Numbuh Five groaned and tried to regain control of her lungs. When she finally began to breathe normally, she saw that the situation looked dire: Numbuh Two was already downed, with Bruce keeping hold of his hands on his back, while Numbuh Four was still wrestling Costance for her rifle. At least, Lenny and David were still tied up.

Costance shoved Numbuh Four away from her and directed the makeshift ironsight towards her two immobilized siblings.

 _What… what is she doing?!_

Wallabee growled and reached out with a punch: yet, Costance didn't even attempt to avoid it. She simply took aim and fired a moment before the operatives' knuckles impacted with her face.

She was knocked down, her glasses fractured, before any of the other Delightfuls could react, but the laser round landed on its intended target nonetheless: the rope keeping David and Lenny tied up.

Numbuh Five had already reverted her gaze back to Ashley by the time the event happened, since she had once again resumed her attacks, but the Delightful girl suddenly stopped after no more than five seconds. Numbuh Five was unable to explain the choice at first, but she regretted ever wondering that when she saw David and Lenny appear by her sides.

"How about surrendering, Abigail?" the Delightful girl asked mockingly. "I am no genius, but I know you're not stupid. You know better than this."

"…I do," Abigail confirmed. Of course, she knew better than to give in without a fight, but right now attacking didn't look like a smart tactic, so she cautiously walked back. Behind them, she saw Bruce kicking poor Numbuh Two on the ground before sprinting for the other operative still standing. If Numbuh Four only managed to beat him and then come to help her…

David and Lenny smiled and the three of them followed her slowly, mimicking her pace. Numbuh Five looked around, trying to find something she could use to gain the upper hand, but unfortunately apart from wooden debris and destroyed 2x4 weapons there wasn't anything she could use around. She either had to defeat the three of them together, which was out of her league, or inflict as much damage as possible before they did so.

She stopped walking, knowing full well that her retreat had brought her back to the destroyed part of the hallway. There was nothing separating the operative from a long fall down the fracture in the treehouse, and the opposite way was blocked by the three Delightfuls.

Yep, not her best stand-off.

"So? What's it going to be, then, Abigail Lincoln?" Lenny questioned. "If you're debating whether to simply jump and get it over with, know that we'd appreciate that very much. It'd lessen our burden here of a much needed quantity."

Numbuh Five scoffed. "As if," she said, then a sudden realization hit her. Her face contorted into a mask of surprise, then it became a smirk: something that left the three Delightfuls moderately confused.

"On second thought, thanks for the tip Lenny," she said before letting her body fall backwards. She disappeared behind the edge before any of the Delightfuls could do anything.

Ashley, David and Lenny ran to the hole and looked down to see nothing. The fracture was too far deep to look into it with no light but the one of the moon outside, and the same could be said for the hallways that had been cut in half by the explosion below.

"She's hidden herself," David stated after ten seconds of silence. "We'd have heard the noise of the impact otherwise."

"We'll take care of her later," Lenny said. The three of them turned around just in time to see Wallabee looking at them lividly, his feet over a beaten Bruce. Evidently, with his brothers and sister occupied with Numbuh Five and Costance half-stunned and half-blinded, Bruce had failed to keep the Aussie at bay.

Aussie that was very _mad_ at the moment.

Numbuh Four aimed the SCAMPP at the Delightfuls and roared in anger before charging forward like a mad bull. The three Delightfuls narrowed their eyes, ready to fight back, but soon Ashley had an idea. An idea that both Lenny and David sprang up to execute without the need of her actually telling them.

They put themselves in front of her and waited for Wallabee to start shooting his weapon: at that point they evaded the incoming laser beams, but behind them Ashley had disappeared. Unfortunately, Numbuh Four was too much irate to notice the lack of the blonde Delightful.

Ashley waited, holding on the edge of the fracture with her hands. Even if she couldn't see it she knew everything: she knew when Numbuh Four finally reached Lenny and David and started to agitate the butt of the SCAMPP in an attempt to hit them, and she knew that David and Lenny weren't simply avoiding his attacks, but were driving him towards her with their movements. She continued to keep her sight fixed above her: she just needed to wait for the right moment, just when Wallabee would've been looking away, and she would've been able to take him out with her staff with a surprise attack.

"Tsk, tsk. I expected better from you, Delightful Children… or should I say, Ashley?" a voice said. Ashley looked to her right and she saw Numbuh Five staring at her from the lower hallway that had been cut by the explosion. She didn't even have the chance to retort as the black girl simply raised a SPICER, surely taken from one of the accursed emergency storages, and pulled the trigger.

The red beam hit Ashley's arms, which immediately let go, unable to resist to the blast. David and Lenny halted right away, but even Numbuh Four stopped when he heard the scream of the falling girl. Abigail simply watched neutrally, apparently impassive to the scene.

" _Curse you!"_ Ashley screamed, her voice getting farther and farther, _"Curse yoouuuuu-!"_ the scream was suddenly cut off. And, an instant later, the other Delightful Children let out a sharp shriek, holding on their heads and with their faces contorted into pained expressions.

Wallabee was very confused by the events unfolding, but soon Numbuh Five's voice came to bring him back to his senses. "Wally, Hoagie! Move! I'll get back there as soon as I can!"

Falling back into battle-mode, Wallabee looked around. David and Lenny were still stumbling on the floor, wheezing like they had something blocking their throats, while on the other side both Hoagie and Costance were still down on the floor. His mind evaluated his options and in the end, he decided for the one he thought was the smartest. Indeed, now that he had calmed down a little, he knew that trying to take on the two Delightfuls may have left his remaining friend vulnerable.

He sprinted away from the two Delightfuls and went to meet Numbuh Two, who was trying to get up in that very moment. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked.

"Never been better in my life," Hoagie replied sarcastically before finally standing on his own legs. He moved a hand to his back and touched it lightly, and his face wrinkled. "Ow... If we survive this, I'm going to ask for a furlough and do nothing but playing cards and videogames on my couch for a week."

"That'll have to wait! Come on, follow me!" Numbuh Four affirmed before running away. "Hey, wait, Numbuh Four!" Numbuh Two called, but Wallabee didn't slow down.

He reached Costance in no time. Without her glasses and with whatever had made her two siblings freak out obviously affecting her as well, she almost looked pitiful, but Wallabee wasn't going to let that stop him. He still had the SCAMPP in his hands, so he only needed to let the muzzle touch Costance's cheek to make her realize, even without glasses, what her current situation was.

Hoagie came running to Wallabee's side, panting. "I… I didn't… I didn't ask for a sprint right after standing up, Wally!"

Wallabee didn't answer, preferring to dedicate his attention to David and Lenny, who were finally stabilizing. Their eyes were on fire… they weren't happy to see Costance subdued, it seemed.

"Oh, all right, I know it's not exactly our best moment, but listen, Wally, we have to-"

"Don't move!" Wally shouted, interrupting Hoagie and making the Delightful Children, who had already begun to walk towards them, halt. "Don't you dare come any closer, you freaks, or your fatty sister gets it!"

"Uhh… Wally?" Hoagie didn't expect him to blurt out such a sentence. Leaving alone the fact that, since Costance had a build similar to his, he had technically insulted him as well, Hoagie had felt how resolute, almost desperate Wallabee's words sounded.

He meant it.

Just how much were these new Delightfuls going to make them change as well?

Yet, despite the threat, David was smiling, something that Hoagie didn't like at all.

"Numbuh Four, hear me out for a sec. We don't have the upper hand, not yet!" Hoagie looked around hastily. "You lost count of one Delightful!"

"What are you talking about?!" Wallabee wasn't happy with Hoagie's doubts. They had no time for doubts. "One is taken care by Abby, then there's the two of them and this scum right here!" he pressed the SCAMPP's muzzle into the girl's cheek, making her yelp. "That's it! Four! Four is-…"

 _Oh, crud._

Maybe some of that view-sharing thing that the Delightfuls had been using had been transferred to his mind as well. That was the only explanation Wallabee could find of the fact that he knew the punch was coming before it impacted with his cheek.

* * *

Abigail didn't even try to attempt a stealth approach. She had just found a ramp of stairs when he heard more screams and yelling, followed by a profanity uttered without a doubt by Wallabee himself, so she had an idea of how things had gone.

She had no way to know what the Delightfuls were going to do with her friends, and she wasn't willing to leave them at their mercy just so she could, _maybe,_ take one out with the element of surprise.

Thus, Numbuh Five simply walked in, her SPICER gun still in her hands, and confronted the Delightful Children frontally. Once they saw her, only Bruce stepped forward: Lenny and David had respectively Wally and Hoagie pinned down, while Costance, a new pair of glasses over her nose, was trying to work on what looked like the remains of the SCAMPP rifle she had been using before.

Costance looked quite flustered and nervous, which was unexpected news for Numbuh Five. The same, though, couldn't be said for the three 'perfect' boys. What was that word Wallabee loved to use when he talked about the videogame characters he controlled while playing with Hoagie?

Oh, yes. Bloodlust. How fitting.

"Surrender." Bruce didn't even waste time in further taunts. "Surrender now, Abigal."

Abigail didn't speak, but the gun that aimed at him was enough of an answer.

"We're sick of giving you the benefit of an option, Abigail. I won't repeat myself. _Surrender!"_ Bruce shouted.

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you, freak?" Wallabee had the nerve to say, with Lenny's foot still on his back. "She's a member of the Kids Next Door, not some idiot lackey like the ones that work for your dumb Father! She won't -OOF!"

Lenny kicked him on the side. Then he kicked him again. And again.

"That's enough!" Hoagie protested, "He's understood!"

He only managed to have the pressure on his back increase. "Do. Not. _Speak,"_ David warned.

"How am I supposed to act like he's not doing anything?!" Hoagie retorted before looking at his friend for a second. Lenny kicked Wally again, making the operative cough. Hoagie was pretty sure that liquid coming out of Wally's mouth was too much red coloured to be drool.

"It's not our problem… you simply _better do it,"_ Costance said. Hoagie looked at her and he felt the hairs all over his body suddenly bolt up. The eyes of the Delightful Children had always been quite icy and cold, but what Hoagie saw in her eyes made him completely freeze in his current position.

His distraction was terminated when Lenny yanked his hands over his back and started to pull. He, thus, realized how Wallabee had felt when he had previously been captured.

"So?" Bruce asked again. He was completely unfazed by Wally's coughs and Hoagie's groans… utterly impassive to their pain. "What is it going to be, Abigail?"

Abby had rarely felt strong emotions in her life. But in that moment, maybe for the first time, he felt what she could only identify as pure hatred.

Yet, as fast as it had come, the emotion left her. Her arms slumped down and, in defeat, she let the gun fall on the floor.

"You win," she simply said, looking at the weapon.

Bruce clapped his hands and his two brothers stopped their respective jobs, granting Wally and Hoagie a moment to breathe and soothe themselves. "Now, come over, Abigail, and be a nice, and _behaved,_ child for once in your life."

Abigail did as she was told, but she only managed to take two steps before someone shouted behind her.

" _Abby, Incoming! STUNNER!"_

* * *

 _Kids Next Door:_ _ **S.T.U.N.N.E.R.**_

 _ **Speaking Tuner U-bliterates Nosy Nemeses' Eardrums Roughly**_

* * *

It was Numbuh One's voice, and Numbuh Five knew immediately that she had to get down and cover her ears as fast as possible. The Delightfuls didn't do so, unable to comprehend what Nigel meant with 'stunner', so they simply braced himself for a possible physical attack.

They were, therefore, completely at the mercy of the soundwaves when Kuki and Nigel finally activated the 2x4 speaker set that Abigail had stolen for her own use in her quarters, a device originally fabricated to deafen enemies in front of it. Numbuh One and Three were dozens of meters away from Numbuh Five, but the STUNNER wasn't designed with safety measures in mind (one of the reasons she had liked the thing in the first place). When the soundwaves reached them, she barely withstood the pressure on her ears.

Thankfully, both Wally and Hoagie had realized what was going on and covered their ears before the waves hit them. The reaction of the Delightful Children, instead, was quite different. Starting from the fact that they immediately began _screaming._

Their screech was so loud that, for a moment, Numbuh Five believed it had overcame the noises of the STUNNER itself. They started to roam around, flailing their arms and punching the air like they had completely lost it, almost hitting each other more than one time. The operatives simply watched, shocked by the display and unwilling to move in fear of getting caught in their frenzy.

When the STUNNER depleted its energy and the soundwaves stopped, Numbuh Five finally let a sigh of relief come out of her mouth. She stood up, putting a finger in her ears to make sure they were still working before looking up to her two teammates. Numbuh Two and Four looked battered up but nonetheless they didn't seem to be seriously harmed, at least ear-wise.

The same couldn't be said for the Delightful Children. The demons had been reduced to weeping shadows of four kids, either lying down or kneeling, and still putting hands over their heads in an attempt to stop whatever was causing their misery. Numbuh Five would've felt sorry… if it wasn't for what they had done moments before.

"That… worked," the voice of Numbuh One said from behind her. "I wasn't sure it'd do so, but it did. They share everything now apparently… pain included. And when hit all together, it only resulted in the attack be multiplied by four."

Numbuh Five turned around and nodded. "Thank you… I have no idea what they'd have done if it wasn't for you two coming in."

"Ohh, don't mention it Abby!" Numbuh Three happily said. How was she able to keep her usual brightness even now, Numbuh Five had no clue.

"Well, enough with the cheers! We… _ow…_ we need to tie them up or something, now!" Numbuh Four said as he and Numbuh Two went to join them. Kuki rushed to the both of them once she saw how bad they looked and despite the protests of the two boys she started a full check-up.

Numbuh Five didn't fail to see how Nigel frowned. "I'm afraid we'll not have the time to do that, Numbuh Four."

"How so?" Abigail said. "They're done, in my opinion."

"Abby," Numbuh One said gravely. "Look. Look carefully."

She complied with the order, and when she saw it, she couldn't almost believe her own eyes. Bruce was already trying to get up: he was still holding his head and his eyes were still wet, but he seemed to have fought through most of the pain in basically a little more than a minute.

"No… it… it can't…" Numbuh Five said. When the other three operatives heard her voice and took a look at their enemies, their eyes shot open in fright. The remaining Delightful Children were all in various states of recovery: while groggily moving around and trying to stand up, the four enemies suddenly turned their heads at the same time towards Sector V.

They weren't happy.

"How… _how?!"_ Numbuh Two was incredulous. "The STUNNER has been tested with entire armies of adults! If it's even more effective against them, how can they already be on their feet?!"

"I've long since stopped being surprised. All I know, Numbuh Two, is that we must hold on just a little longer," Numbuh One said. He stuck out his index finger and rotated it, motioning his teammates to follow him. "We'll make a last stand elsewhere! With me, team, double time!"

Numbuh Five knew that her doubts about Nigel's plan had to be the same as the ones that she saw in Numbuh Two and Four's faces, since his orders lacked details. But when she looked at Numbuh Three, she saw that she had complete faith in her leader, as she did not hesitate for one second to follow his lead. Eventually, she let out a simple 'On it' before following him, and soon the other two boys did the same.

When the Delightful Children regained the ability to talk, Sector V had already disappeared in the depths of the treehouse. Bruce walked towards the darkness and his eyes scanned the obscurity in search of their enemies, even if he already was aware of the fact that they had fled the place.

"I _hate_ them…" Lenny said behind him.

"I… gah…. I hate them _so much!"_ David blurted out.

"They have to pay… they'll all do…" Costance added up.

Bruce turned around to look at them. His face was wrinkled up into the most angered frown possible for him, but he still managed to keep himself under control and not lash out.

"They're… they're going to put up a defence for sure. Their main briefing room… at the top of the treehouse. That's where they'll most likely go… and that's where we'll get them. They will not be able to escape anymore… they're surely going to block all of the entrances: they'll close themselves in a dead end."

He looked towards the fracture, beyond the other Delightful Children. "We have little time left, but it'll be enough. Once Ashley is reunited with us, we'll go and rid ourselves of the scum that is Sector V before their wretched cavalry arrives."

He raised a hand and showed his point by tightening the fist right in front of his face.

"They'll end today… one way or another... _no matter the cost."_

* * *

 _One week._

All that was left according to Edwards' calculations was one, single week. Then, the therapy would finally end and his last job would be finished… a successful job, given what he was seeing right now.

Agreeing to a request of him and with the unwilling permission of Father, the Delightful Children had taken a two-week break from school. The children were enough skilled (or respectful of school duties; by sheer passion or fear of their guardian, he wasn't sure) to be able to recover any loss in their studying schedule, and the doctor needed to have their full attention in this final phase of the therapy: they couldn't spend time pretending to be like their old selves every day. Two months had passed since the start of the treatment, and it was getting harder and harder for them to play the part at school: if they really did want to 'keep the surprise' – as they had told him – then they had to avoid the place.

Despite these measures, Edwards was positive that the hardest part had already been left behind. The thought exercises had completely been archived, since the Delightful Children had personally asked him to continue the therapy with battle-related tests and he had agreed to their desire. Not once had the children of Father showed him difficulties or struggle in managing what could be defined as a new lifestyle in the last few weeks: he had no reason to continue boring them with that aspect. Besides, the kids were eager to test themselves against their sworn enemies, and Edwards wasn't going to argue with that.

His thoughts had momentarily made him lose focus, so he shook his head and resumed to keep an eye on the current task he had assigned to the Delightful Children. He may have been a psychologist, but you didn't need to be Eisenhower to understand that a robot, as much intelligent as you could make one, could never fully take the place of a human enemy in combat. Especially not the 2x4 bots stolen from the KND or the cheap machines that had been scrapped by Father's underlings.

Therefore, right then there was a 'match' happening in front of him inside the gym that was nearing the day of its retirement: the children were fighting _each other._ Edwards had not decided to move this particular exercise back in the schedule at random. He had immediately liked it while thinking up how to organize the sessions, but he had always known that, by putting the children in such a scenario, he would have ridden them of their most notable ability: the information sharing without the need of vocal communication. He wanted to start working on that _after_ the children had mastered their extraordinary gift.

It was, indeed, no surprise for him to observe the children as being particularly less elegant in their moves and actions than they were used to be. The training gun Costance used missed its intended target more than one time, while Ashley had somehow momentarily lost her skills with the black staff she had learned to use in little time while working out with her siblings. The three boys weren't better either, their mini boxing matches resembling more to awkward smack exchanges rather than real attacks. They weren't trying to hurt each other, of course, but even if only trying to score a light hit it was no mystery they were having trouble.

"Keep it on, Delightful Children," the doctor incited when he saw preoccupation in the eyes of his patients. "The fact you aren't as fast and coordinated as you were in previous exercises is to be expected, so do not worry."

After all, how could they keep their abilities, when they had grown so accustomed to read each other's thoughts and now they were basically asked to shield them from their siblings?

Edwards wrote down a couple of notes as he observed the fight. He noted that, despite the obvious difficulty, they were already making progress. The punches of the boys became less cumbersome and more threatening, the staff moved faster and faster and the gun's training rubber pelts finally started to leave a few marks.

 _That's good. As much as their particular condition is formidable, having them able to act independently will surely help them out on the long run… well, even if I know they probably won't be fighting alone._

He eyed his notebook to make a mental recap of his impressions, with the idea to have the kids cease to rest for a little while.

The plan was however anticipated when a 'yelp!' was heard. Edwards' eyes moved up just in time to see the body of Bruce falling down.

He was already moving when Ashley's voice started to babble in horror. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she said with a tone the adult had seldom heard them use.

 _Care… another new element to the equation, I suppose._

Lenny and Costance went to help Bruce sit up, while David patted the blonde girl's shoulder. When Edwards joined them, the boy was already on his feet.

"I'm sorry, Bruce!" Ashley repeated, "I thought I could stop it, but my hands slipped and-!"

"Hey, calm down there," the boy said. He had a hand on his forehead, but his other hand grabbed hold of Ashley's one. "Accidents happen. We were all a little over the edge, so don't you start to go all protective over me."

 _Hmm… I didn't expect cuteness to apply to the equation as well._

Edwards decided to spare his patients from a horrible joke – he was still _on the job,_ technically – and let them have their little family moment. He did know that they had no full control and that with such a training session an accident like that one could happen, so he had no real right to expect them to jump right back into action.

What happened afterwards, however, made the doctor immediately reconsider his idea.

The hand that Bruce was keeping on his head suddenly tightened his grasp. The boy groaned, stepping away from Ashley while she and the other three Delightfuls looked at him with looks of… shock?

"…Bruce?" the psychologist asked, approaching the boy. "Is there something wrong?"

"I… I don't think so. It must be a headache, Ashley knows how to use her staff well I guess and…" the boy said.

Flashbacks suddenly hit the doctor and the man became very serious. "Bruce, you have to be sincere… we've talked about this. Is this just a headache, a concussion maybe? Or is there something else?"

The doctor's serious gaze had the effect he had expected, and Bruce shook his head. "I don't know, Doctor Edwards. It fells like one… but it… it _hurts…_ it…"

The boy let out a yelp again… followed right after by his four siblings, who suddenly brought hands to their heads as well, frowning.

"What in the name of…" Edwards couldn't help but say. This was it… the other four were feeling it too. It was happening again.

It didn't make sense! There was something that he had to have missed… something different!

" _Doctor Edwards?"_ the five of them said in perfect synchronization… something they had not done for a full week. _"What is happening to us?"_

Their voice was full of fear. Fear of what was coming… but Edwards had believed them to be able to control it… he had believed them to have even removed the source of the problem. No episodes like the one during the first day for months! They _had_ to have found a way to not let it bother them again. How come would they have been able to follow the sessions without a hitch, then? It had to have disappeared, or been maimed at least!

 _He had been wrong… once again._ The psychologist simply had to face it.

They didn't put the problem under control, nor did they remove it… they had just stifled it down. And now that their inner wall had been damaged by a simple head concussion… now, it was free once again to invade their heads.

Edwards felt powerless as the children's minds were flooded.

* * *

" _Fear… isn't that tasteful. Not a fear you can make fun of. Not an unreasonable one, either. Justified, maybe, but not that much… just, fear. It's what you feel."_

" _It's… it's true…"_

" _You see it, Bruce. Don't you see it, too? Ashley, was it fear when you hit him by chance? Wasn't it fear when you saw your brother down on the floor, Lenny? Wasn't it, David? And you, Costance?"_

…

" _You know it's fear. A taste pretty similar to the one you're feeling now… you've been naughty, Delightful Children."_

" _Wait! That's a lie!"_

" _You've been irresponsible. You thought you could change all thanks to the weird machinations of a shrink that appeared out of nowhere!"_

" _We needed to change! We're better now! We're stronger!"_

" _Oh, so you're stronger, you say? Hmm, how cute. Do you really think you'll be able to beat the Kids Next Door?"_

" _They'll cower and plead for mercy once they learn about our new 'us'!"_

" _They'll laugh at you. That's what they always do. And Father will, once again, be very disappointed."_

…

" _It's not even about the idiotic shrink. It's about them. The Kids Next Door made you reach this point. They made you resort to this stupidity!"_

" _No… No!"_

" _They're the cause of everything! All of your life spent trying to beat those accursed five kids living in their little safe heaven, away from everyone and everything, asocial brats that don't want anything to do with the society of well-behaved children and adults! No… there's only one way to cancel this fear._

" _End the Kids Next Door, once and for all._ _ **We**_ _will do it… or else, it will be fear._

" _And it will be pain."_

* * *

They had been lucky. It was only a miracle that in that exact moment a couple of Father's ice-cream men were walking down the halls doing who knows what kind of errand for master and heard of the commotion happening. They were quick to accuse him, of course, but he only needed a couple of words to make them understand that there was no time for arguing… not now at least.

The three had quickly helped the Delightful Children, once the 'attack' had exhausted itself, to lie down and recover their breaths. There wasn't much they could do, other than put them in a comfortable position and wait: they were breathing, but they were unconscious.

Edwards did not miss the fact that the two men were eyeing him suspiciously. Even if he had managed to convince them to stay here instead of running to their master, he had a hunch that, earlier that he'd have liked, Father would have payed him quite a heated visit… but even so, this didn't look that important to him right now.

He couldn't fathom how any of this could happen. He had been so sure… almost blinded by the Delightful Children's perfection. Almost as blinded as their guardian, it seemed… but then, what was the truth? Why were they experiencing… this? He didn't even have a name to describe it: panic attack? Shared headache raised to the power of one-hundred? An automated reaction to the sudden lack of communication?

Any of these could apply, more or less. The last one was particularly fitting given the exercise he had given them that day… but if so, was there any possibility for them to overcome it? If they were destined to endure such attacks over and over, then maybe all of this couldn't bring them nowhere. Yet…

"Doctor?"

Edwards shot up faster than he'd have imagined he could be.

"Children?"

Bruce sat up slowly, lifting his head off the little pillows the adults had managed to scavenge in the nearby rooms. He massaged his head, flinching when his hand touched the skin. "How do you feel, Bruce?" the Doctor asked, approaching the boy carefully. One of the men reached out to stop him, but he saw that Ashley had 'woken up' as well and was glaring at him. As suspicious as he was, the ice-cream man knew better than to anger Father's wards.

"Not well… but better than before. I think it's gone…" Bruce replied. Slowly, the other Delightfuls managed to follow their brother and sister in their example: they all confirmed their impressions and looked all like their previous selves. No coordination, no nothing: these were the kids he had learned to know.

"Doctor Edwards… what happened?" Costance eventually asked the question the psychologist was waiting for.

"I… I am still in the process of studying it…" he replied slowly. "I want to be fully sure to reach a justified interpretation of what has happened today… because it can't be ignored, that's for sure."

The children nodded their heads. They all seemed to be in deep thought… a shared thought, he guessed. They stayed silent for a full minute before any of them spoke.

"Doctor…" David said, "we wanted to say that… we still believe in you. In your therapy and your final goal… we're willing to move forward, no matter what."

The doctor raised an eyebrow. Was their will so ironlike they were willing to move forward… despite what happened? The screaming, the pain they surely had to go through?

"We'll… I mean, I will think about that, children. But I have to put order into my thoughts… for today, this is more than enough from you. You're dismissed."

The children waited for a few seconds before acknowledging the order. _"Yes, Doctor Edwards,"_ they said collectively in their old way, like they were one.

One…

 _Wait._

An ice-cream man opened his mouth to speak his displeasure out but before he could talk Doctor Edwards was already running, and out of the door.

The Delightful Children looked confused, but apart from that they no more looked frightened or agitated. They politely thanked the two remaining adults for their assistance and moved alone towards their quarters, without another word.

After all, they had no need to tell each other what their definitive goal now was.

* * *

 _This is so confusing. Indeed, my hardest case yet… and one I didn't solve like I thought, not at all._

 _One… that is the key. The Delightful Children, as one, opposed to Bruce, Ashley, Costance, David and Lenny, as five different kids. That's the obvious contrast. But I'm still missing something here. I know the opposition… but what is really going on in their minds continues to be beyond me._

 _I have to find an explanation for all of this as soon as I can… before it's too late._


	5. The Price for Perfection

_**AN:**_ _With this update, the story is complete. I am sorry about the absurdly long time I needed to complete the five chapters: truth be told, this story was started all the way back in 2015 and it's been hard to work on since then. My hopes to keep at least the updates of the final draft regular were unfortunately crushed as soon as I started writing it, but even so, I'm happy I've finally managed to reach the end. After all, this was an idea of mine that has been long overdue._

 _Thanks for the support from the few reviewers and to the people who left a favourite/follow and showed their interest, and to everyone: thanks for reading!_

* * *

 _Chapter 5_

 **The Price for Perfection**

 _It's all coming to me now… I know the source. I know what the cause of the attacks is._

 _It's not easy to describe it, and yet, it's almost too obvious. I remember people talking about Father's wards as a unique mind of sorts… how ironic that such a thought wasn't just a figure of speech to refer to the kids' ability to share their inner thoughts. No… it wasn't simply a matter of them acting as one, of a conflict of two ways of living. It's… it's an entity on its own._

 _It was one with them, before we started the therapy. And, now that they're independent, that they're able to think for themselves… it has started to rebel to the new state of things. It fought back, and that caused the misery of my patients._

 _Dear god… I've been an idiot. I thought they could control it on their own… that they had already put it under their full will. It was all a cover-up, and I let it slide under my nose like a young and ignorant student. I can't even fathom how much in danger the children are now… how far it could go. No… this has to end now. We need to put a stop to everything. It's too dangerous, and I'm not going to sacrifice lives in the name of a simple theory._

 _I only hope that they'll all be able to open their eyes and accept the truth._

* * *

"WHAAAT?!"

Edwards threw himself to the side, falling on the floor and barely evading the giant fireball. The hellish sphere exploded into a nearby wall without setting fire to anything though, since everything in Father's office was fireproof.

"What is the meaning of this, Edwards? Are you out of your mind!?" Father bellowed, his eyes pulsating with energy.

"You have to understand, Mr. Uno!" Edwards' voice was filled with urgency, almost begging. "The _hive mind_ is too strong! We can't possibly know how it's going to affect your children, it might even do something irreparable! The therapy has to end now… and we need to revert everything. Even if there was a solution and we had more time to find it, I won't risk-"

"How you dare speak like you care about my Delightful Children, shrink?" clearly, the psychologist's words weren't working the way he intended. "My children are perfectly fine as they are and your work… until now, has proven effective in improving them. You won't change it all back just because of a whim of yours!"

Edwards stood up and faced Father adamantly, ready to attempt yet another time to convince the villain of his mistake. Yet, the vocal clash between the two men had not went unheard around the Deligthful Mansion. The doctor was prepared for anything to convince Father, but he wasn't prepared to face _them,_ not yet.

"What is happening here, Father? Doctor Edwards?"

And even so… there they were. Father and Edwards turned towards the Delightful Children, momentarily forgetting about each other. The five of them stood in an ordinate line, a little space keeping them separated but near just enough to still feel like a group. The group formation was already a memory far in the past, at that point. In fact, it had been Bruce to speak, and the other four children had not said a word with him.

Edwards' face hardened. He had no choice – procrastinating wasn't going to help. Before Father could open his mouth, Edwards walked over towards his own patients and knelt until he was looking directly at their faces. They looked worried… of course.

"Children… I've made a discovery about your current state of health and mind," Edwards slowly explained. "I am afraid that the therapy has to come to an end now, and that you'll need to revert back to your old status, before all of this even started."

The Delightful Children didn't seem to follow the logic in the doctor's sentences. Their faces contorted into dismayed expressions. "What?!" the boys uttered together.

"What do you mean? We can't… you _can't!"_ Ashley cried. "You can't possibly…"

"It's too dangerous. Kids… I've seen it… you've _felt_ it. I couldn't live with the thought of putting you five in danger willingly… no, I won't do that."

"Enough!" Father had practically sneaked behind him, taking the psychologist by surprise. Without even a hint at 'excuse me', he grabbed Edwards' shoulder and pulled him away from the still shocked Delightfuls. He was flung into the hardened desk, and before he could even crash into the thing Father was already charging up another fireball in his hands.

"You've lost your mind, Edwards. I won't let your pathetic morals mess with my plans… my children's plans. Do it then, end the therapy! The Delightful Children are already a force to be reckoned with. But if that's so, leave and _never_ show your face here again!"

Edwards groaned, sitting beside the desk he had been slammed into. His back ached a lot… he wasn't sure how far the damage had gone, and he sure wasn't appreciating the idea of facing the wrath of Father once again.

And yet, despite these thoughts, he stubbornly stood up and pointed a finger at the villain: apparently, the act had made him both fearless and bold. "You're going to make everything worse this way, Uno. You don't know _anything_ about your children… you'll end up causing a disaster to their expense. But, after all, does that matter to you?"

"What… how you dare!? You little piece of scum!" Father literally lighted up. He was going to annihilate him now, no matter what.

Well, except for his children's intervention of course. _"Let us deal with him, Father,"_ they asked in coordination, _"we want to free you of this heavy burden. Please?"_

Father slowly burn out, observing his children and their resolute eyes. Only when the last flame dissipated he passed a hand over his face. "Ugh… Alright, but make it quick. I can't stand this idiot's face in my sight anymore."

They nodded before moving towards the psychologist. Edwards looked at them, a glint of hope growing inside him. Maybe they had understood?

"Your services are no longer needed, Doctor Edwards."

Did… did Bruce just say-?

"You've been a kind and talented expert and we thank you for your help, but in our fair opinion we've already reached our peak. It's time for you to let it go and for us to do as we please."

"No… no, you don't understand," Edwards looked over Costance's face, then the ones of the other children, searching for anything, _anything_ but what his ears were hearing. There was no hesitation in them. No nervousness.

No nothing.

"This is not about your strength or power or whatever you're thinking about! Children, you can't keep it up, the hive mind will-"

"There is no such a thing as a hive mind," David sternly interrupted. "There is only the five of us and our wills, together, are bonded to only one goal: taking out the Kids Next Door."

"And you are not going to stop us, Doctor Edwards," Lenny said. "Not now, not tomorrow. We will not let this chance go wasted."

"So… it's time for you to leave… and bring your inconsiderate hypothesises with you. To never return," Ashley concluded.

For once in his life as a professional, Edwards refused to believe to the facts as they had been presented to him. He opened his mouth, the he closed it, unable to find a reply.

Father chuckled, amused by the sight of the astonished man. "Well said, children. Edwards… the Delightful Children have spoken," he said mockingly, "and if I were you, I'd pay heed to their words."

Edwards didn't look like he had heard him. He continued to stare at the five kids, dumbfounded, unable to process the fact that they had just dumped him. He may have been weak, he may have been starting to like them on his own… but he believed there had to be a connection developing there, that they would at least appear dubious. That they would at least _try_ and listen to him. Why would the Delightful Children suddenly jump back to their old emotionless selves – sans the coordination – in so little time? It didn't make sense.

Unless… he had been too late.

Edwards' muscles relaxed for the first time in more than ten minutes. He sighed, letting the tension flow out of his body, before returning the glare thrown at him by the inhabitants of the Deligthful Mansion. Then, he started for the door out of Father's study.

"I will leave… I have nothing left to do here," he said while treading on the floor. When he was under the door frame, though, he stopped and whirled around, a frown plastered on his face.

"But mark my words, Uno. Remember my warning, Delightful Children… You will regret your decision."

"I don't remember telling you to take your time, shrink! Get _out!"_ Father bellowed, fireballs on both hands ready to strike.

But Edwards had disappeared before he could even have the chance to attack. The doctor marched down the halls: he only needed to take a few of his own things before leaving and then he'd make sure to abide by the desires of his employer and his patients. If what he thought was true, then there was _nothing_ he could do to help any of them, with or without their approval. He had been a fool… to think that such people could follow the principles of science he believed in. Of common sense, even.

Despite his frustration, Edwards couldn't help but dedicate a thought to the five kids he had worked with for so long, and he furrowed an eyebrow.

 _They made their decision. It's all in their hands now… I hope they'll be able to succeed where I have failed._

 _Otherwise… they may not have the chance to live it through._

* * *

Sector V's briefing room was almost unrecognizable. The operatives had taken hold of whatever piece of scrap and equipment they could put their hands on while making a run for the place and once the full team had reached their destination, they had immediately begun a very fast building phase. By then, the room looked rather different from its past self, as a new makeshift fortification had appeared in the room.

The three main entrances were all closed: the two smaller ones were blocked by various pieces of furniture, while the main one above the floor had been locked for good with a simple emergency code, effectively isolating the room form the rest of the treehouse. All types of objects lay on the floor, from random pieces of rejected materials to possible hidden traps, up to the part where the kids usually sat down to listen to their leader and watch the plan in hologram form. The depression had been made taller with wood planks, dirty clothes, duct tape and various other objects in 2x4 fashion: it wasn't enough tall to completely block the way, but it was enough to slow down incoming invaders. The sort-of-bunker had two wings reaching out the two sides of the room as well, effectively cutting it in half.

Numbuh Five stood in the centre of the 'trench', SPICER ready to fire in her hands, while Numbuh Three and Two occupied the two side extensions. Numbuh One had decided that holding the enemies off was more important than victory at the moment: it was a defence they were setting up, and once he told the other operatives about the emergency message he had sent to the Kids Next Door they were fast to agree with him.

Numbuh One kept his gaze fixed on the scenario in front of him, from his position on the podium. The stand was lying down on the floor at his feet, a potential cover for the hard fight he expected to happen soon, but for now he preferred to keep himself upright and not distract himself. With the way the Delightfuls had repeatedly taken them by surprise that day, he no more wanted to take any chances.

"How much time before the KND gets here, Numbuh One?" Numbuh Five shouted while giving a peek to the blocked entrances.

The operative checked his watch and made a mental count. "Ten minutes, less if we're lucky. Don't distract yourself and keep your eyes open. They won't let us wait much longer."

Instead of complying, Numbuh Five walked around the hologram projector until she could look directly at Numbuh One's face. Her face betrayed her own thoughts. "Listen… Numbuh One… are you sure this is a good idea?"

Numbuh One grunted. "I am. As I told you, Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two has to have received the message personally, by now, and I'm sure that a legion of operatives is already on their way."

"But did you see the feedback message? Are you sure it got sent _and_ received?"

Numbuh One grimaced, but he couldn't bring himself to lie. He shook his head, much to Abigail's chagrin.

"Nigel," she said gravely, "you don't have to do this. _We_ don't. We can still escape. We'll get the treehouse back later."

"They aren't going to let us do it, Abigail. They will be looking for us… I know it. This _is_ the best decision right now."

"But aren't you _tired?_ Worried? I don't know… _scared?_ Have you seen what those… those _things_ did to us?"

Numbuh One glanced away from Numbuh Five, unable to reply to her words at first. His eyes fell on the various upper platforms that were visible on the ceiling. One of them was a very recent addition… and there, Numbuh Four was hidden under a blanket and various 2x4 materials. If he focused, he could make out the muzzle of the modded SCAMPP sniper rifle.

He wasn't really into the sniper role, but Numbuh One and Three had both been adamant about letting him fight on the first line. He had received the worst injuries out of the team, and Nigel wasn't going to demand him to hurt himself more than he already was.

That, while hoping that the others didn't suffer the same fate.

He turned back towards Numbuh Five, keeping his expression undaunted. "I've thought about this, Abby, and we have no choice. They're going to track us down no matter what, I'm sure of that… they are not stopping, not today and not tomorrow, not until we're done for. We _must_ catch them now that we have the chance."

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, Numbuh One," Abigail said, crossing her arms. She examined her tomato pistol for a moment before turning her back to the boy, returning to her previous position silently.

Numbuh One didn't fail to notice the lack of conviction in her words. He recognized that there were alternatives to his current plan: yet, for him the possibilities of the Delightfuls' reaction to their escape weren't simply worth it. They could take a COOLBUS and leave in a hurry, only to be somewhat shot down or pursued on a stolen SCAMPER. They could try with the tunnels of the lower parts, and maybe the demons would have been waiting for them on the other side.

Or maybe they would simply wait it out after their escape… until the chance presented itself to finish the job in the future.

He couldn't know for sure. Defending the briefing room was the only plan where he could at least limit a little the extent of what the new Delightful Children could've done… he just hoped that they-

"Guys… they're coming," Numbuh Two suddenly said. It was already quiet in the room, but right after Hoagie's notice the silence became almost complete. Numbuh One could basically feel the tension in the air, the concentration as his teammates aimed at the three doors with their own weapons.

Footsteps were heard not too long after. They were soft but fast approaching, and they stopped only when they were very close… behind the blocked doors.

There were other noises coming through the halves. Numbuh One wasn't able to understand what they were doing, but apparently Numbuh Two did because the operative started to tighten his fists in anger.

"They…" he growled to himself, barely able to prevent himself from shouting, "they stole my stuff. They're putting soda charges behind the main door…"

Numbuh Five was the only one who heard the complains of the chubby operative: she proceeded to move to his position and motioned him to keep his mouth shut, then she went to give the message to both Numbuh One and Three. Wallabee would've had to do without it, but thankfully his role didn't need that much information.

"They may be expecting us to be taken aback, but I think we can handle it," Numbuh One whispered once Numbuh Five filled him in with the news. "I don't think they had the time to carry a lot of those explosives… they're gonna make a lot of noise and break in, but apart from that they won't make much damage to our cover. We can work with that… just, be ready for possible new surprises."

Numbuh Five nodded, but before she could leave him, Nigel made a move and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Abby?"

She turned towards him with a half-annoyed, half-saddened face.

"We can do this. It's true, they're different… they're stronger. But they aren't invincible. Rachel will not fail us… we're not alone in this. We'll all make it. Just… hold on for a little longer."

Abigail looked down, hiding his face under her red visor. "I believe you," she simply said. Nigel retracted his hand and nodded, and she departed quietly.

 _We can do this, Abigail… we can do it. Just a little longer…_

The noise of glass being destroyed invaded the room. Sharp fragments fell everywhere as Nigel turned to his left and saw his old acquaintance Mr. Black Staff coming towards his face.

"THE WINDOWS! FIRE!" Numbuh Two shouted in alarm. Numbuh One dropped to the floor, evading a hit on the head, and found himself with the need to crawl backwards to prevent Ashley from stabbing him. The blonde Delightful was thrusting her polearm at him like a spear, trying to pin him down. She was inhumanly fast, apparently, and at first none of the shots of the other three operatives managed to hit her.

Another glass sheet broke in a million pieces, and Bruce came down on the podium, swinging on a rope taken from who knows where and landing gracefully on the wooden floor. Numbuh One was too much preoccupied with his sister to notice him, so he immediately rushed towards the operative.

"Oh, not on my watch!" Numbuh Five shouted, going to Numbuh One's aid. She bolted away from her spot and climbed over the podium, shooting her gun at the running kid. She landed a few good hits, which managed to slow down the second Delightful and keep him away from Numbuh One.

Ashley had managed to push Nigel towards the backwall of the podium. Left without escape routes, the boy had barely been able to stand on his own legs to face the girl. His hand reached out for his own gun, but his fingers found nothing but air: either he had lost it, or Ashley had made sure to smack it away from him.

The girl grinned disturbingly as she looked at him longingly. "I'm going to please myself with every ounce of pain I'm going to give y-" her monologue was interrupted by a SCAMPP powered blast that scored a perfect headshot. Ashley was immediately knocked out, her staff flying away, and at the same time Bruce suddenly stopped his run, grabbing his head and groaning in pain.

 _Good shot, Numbuh Four!_ Numbuh one thought as he immediately moved to subdue the KOed Delightful. They had to take every chance to put numbers in their favour, before-

A ridiculously loud detonation was heard, and the three entrances to the briefing room literally blew up, throwing the shutters and the barricades into an arc in the air through the chamber. Numbuh Two and Three, the only operatives remaining in the 'trench', hurriedly whirled around and saw three different Delightful Children sprinting out of the dust, one for each of the entrances.

They immediately began to fire at will, but it was a two vs three fight. Costance, the Delightful in the centre, still had a working SCAMPP in her hands, and she didn't hesitate to use it, making Kuki and Hoagie duck behind cover for more time than they'd have wanted.

At least, she did until Numbuh Four sniped at her, hitting the handle of the rifle with a blast. Costance yelled his distress out, dropping the weapon and flailing her burned palms before shouting a firm request: _"Get them!"_

Numbuh One could only watch as David and Lenny respectively assaulted Kuki and Hoagie. He had to resort to all his years of training to let the thought of what they were going to do slide and focus on the current task of keeping a seething Ashley pinned on the ground, while Abigail wrestled with Bruce not far away from them. He was _sitting on her,_ since he had no idea how much power she hid behind her innocent appearance, and she kept her facing the floor, one hand on her neck and another keeping her arms in check.

"You can't beat us, Nigel Uno!" Ashley roared. _"Give up!"_

"On my dead body!" Nigel blurted out.

"If that's what you want."

Nigel didn't even have the time to realize what the Delightful had just meant that Ashley made a sudden jerk with her body, pulling with all her might to free herself from Nigel's grasp, but the operative kept her under himself, using his own weight to his advantage.

The move, however, was so sudden that the hand Nigel was using to keep Ashley's head fixed on the floor slipped away. Instinctively, the operative reached out in order to not let her capture escape and ended up taking hold of the Delightful's face. The extent of his error became very clear when he suddenly felt two lines of teeth biting into his palm.

"EEEK!" he screamed, jumping away from her. Ashley didn't let him have a moment of rest: she stood up and leaped at him. In less than five seconds, the two had inverted their previous positions.

"I'm gonna make you regret ever being bo-!" another sniper shot hit the mad girl, once again knocking her away from Nigel. This time, though, he scrambled out of the way while mentally thanking Numbuh Four for saving his butt, and looked around, checking if his teammates were having any luck.

What he saw made his blood run cold. Numbuh Five was still fighting… but now she was alone against two Delightfuls, Bruce and Lenny. He looked to the makeshift walls and, where Hoagie and Kuki were supposed to hold the line there was nothing but two broken-down sections, rubble all around the place. Kuki wasn't even visible: he could only see Hoagie's body among the debris, the kid visibly out cold. And, of course, David was nowhere in sight.

It was very difficult, for him, to not disrespect the rule of not-using adult-talk and _not_ let out a colourful curse out of distress.

 _This is going to be hard._

* * *

Wallabee charged up the modded rifle and aimed towards Delightfuls that were fighting with Abigail. He was enough wary to understand that, at the moment, he was the only element of advantage Sector V had, but the thought wasn't helping him in keeping the ironsight from trembling. His hands were quivering and sweaty, and the fact that both Hoagie and Kuki had been overpowered by their assailants wasn't helping. Not to mention that he could no longer see Kuki's green sweater.

 _Focus, Numbuh Four! You can do this! Piece of cake!_ he thought to himself as he closed one eye and took aim towards Lenny. He placed a finger on the trigger, ready to pull at the right moment.

Then he heard Numbuh One's shouting.

"Numbuh Four! _Behind you!"_

It was too late. As Nigel screamed 'you' Wallabee felt something grabbing his foot. "Goodbye, Wallabee," David said before pulling the kid like a sack of potatoes and throwing him out of the railing-less platform. Abigail and Nigel could only watch as the operative plunged inevitably towards the floor. Numbuh Four didn't scream in fright, but when he hit the floor he couldn't help letting out a sharp, painful shriek.

" _My leg!"_ he shouted hysterically, _"I can't! It's too-… Aaah!"_

Wallabee's cries were so powerful that they managed to get someone to wake up. Kuki opened her eyes and groaned as the expected headache rang in her head. She forcefully moved away whatever was covering her head and hissed when the bruise on her forehead started to burn. Yet, despite it all, she stood up and started to move, as if a sudden surge of energy had just happened inside her.

Costance was busy pulling an unconscious Numbuh Two out of the rubble when Numbuh Three suddenly attacked her, making a panther-like leap with an irate cry. The Delightful was too befuddled to do anything but say a confused 'Huh?' before the operative was over her.

The event managed to make Bruce and Lenny divert their attention away from Abby for a moment, and the girl made sure to seize the opportunity. Lenny's helmet received a hit dead on and despite the protection he was still sent stumbling backwards, while Bruce was hit right in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

However, there was a third Delightful she had forgotten about: Ashley, once again recovered, was about to strike her from behind. However, before she could attack Numbuh One stopped her: he was ironically using her staff, which he swung before she could react, hitting her face and repelling her away.

After doing so, Numbuh One tossed the staff as far away as possible, over the 2x4 fortifications and on the other side of the room, among the chaos. If they were lucky, the blonde Delightful wouldn't have had the opportunity to harass them with the thing again.

When Numbuh Two managed to return to the land of the living (and awake), he saw quite an amazing spectacle. Three delightfuls out of five were either staggered or stunned on the podium, and Kuki had single-handedly dispatched Costance in less than a minute. He could even see David furiously glaring at the operatives from the platform above them, unable to do anything since he had accidentally kicked out Wallabee's rifle along with him.

He got to his feet the best he could and trudged towards Kuki, who was firing daggers at Delightful above while keeping Costance pinned down. When she saw him, Hoagie decided to attempt to compliment her: "Impressive. How did you-"

Before he could finish, Numbuh Three sprinted away towards the still downed and ranting Numbuh Four. Unsurprised by her reaction, he walked over to Costance to find out that, instead of being angry, she actually looked more flustered than anything. And despite the previous beatdown, Hoagie couldn't help but grin.

Numbuh One granted himself a moment to think over the next move. Ashley, Bruce and Lenny were likely going to fight both him and Numbuh Five… they needed more time, and without option he tried to resort to dialogue. "That's all you could do, Delightful Children? How strange of you, given your previous feats today. I expected better."

"Numbuh One!" apparently, Abigail didn't agree with his idea. But it was too late.

Bruce, Lenny and Ashley suddenly stopped to wobble around and looked at him. He saw the hatred filling their gazes… the utter despise they felt towards him and his friends.

"Shut… **Up!"**

And then, it was chaos.

Numbuh One lost eye contact with most of his teammates. All he could see was the three Delightfuls suddenly bolting towards him and Abby, shouting and flailing their arms like madmen. He and Numbuh Five needed to jump in two different directions to evade Lenny, who tried to ram his head into them, and before they could join back with each other Ashley and Bruce attacked them.

Soon, Numbuh One realized that somehow, the combat abilities of their foes had improved even more. He had already grown accustomed to their enemies being faster, _but this fast?_ Numbuh One couldn't fathom how Bruce had suddenly gained the speed of a shrew mouse. He barely managed to keep him at bay one-on-one, and he had no idea when Lenny was going to join in the fun.

As if that wasn't enough, the operative realized that Bruce was no more trying to block his counter punches. Numbuh One managed to land a hit on the cheek of the Delightful, only to have Bruce completely ignore it and keep the push with a punch of his own. He was no more caring for his own health… and, as far as pure resistance went, it didn't look like Numbuh One would've been able to wear him down. He definitely didn't have the time to.

All of that along with the fact that Bruce was trying to make him feel true pain. All in all, his predicament alone was very enlightening on how much in trouble Sector V was.

Thankfully, though, Bruce wasn't completely invincible. The Delightful managed to push him away before leaping at him with a yell without stopping. It was an attack fuelled by rage, but without control, and it was easy for Numbuh One to duck down, evade the incoming punch and land a hook into Bruce's stomach. Wheezing and gasping for air, Bruce was forced to retreat, but his eyes continued to be fixed on Numbuh One: he wasn't happy.

The short pause let Nigel use a few seconds to check his team-mates. Abigail was fighting hard with Ashley, while on his left, beyond the edge of the podium, he saw Hoagie trying to keep a squirming Costance from getting up and escape.

His look hardened when he saw Kuki. The girl was desperately trying to keep Lenny away from Numbuh Four: the Delightful had been trying to fight his way to the downed operative, who was still clutching on his leg in agony, but Numbuh Three was doing her best to keep him away.

That left one Delightful to account for. After checking Bruce once again and seeing him still having trouble with his breath, he scanned the upper walls near the platform where Wally's sniper nest had been positioned. And of course, David was nowhere to be seen. Numbuh One started a fast scan of the nearby upper platforms, searching for the hidden enemy.

 _Where are you…? Come on, you can't be that far…_

He finally caught sight of him, hidden among the upper walkways in the darkness, just in time to see him jump down, apparently unfazed by the height. Then he realized he was right over Numbuh Three.

" _Kuki! Watch out!"_

Hoagie was too late. David literally landed over her, feet first. She was immediately knocked down with a yelp and before she could react Lenny's foot met her face. The second Delightful tumbled away, apparently hurt as well by the fall, but Lenny pressed on, starting to kick Kuki without rest.

Before he could start moving towards Numbuh Three to help her, something hit Numbuh One's side. He grunted and instinctively raised his hand to protect his face, a smart move since Bruce tried to follow his first punch with a strike on the operative's nose. The Delightful growled and moved forward with an uppercut, but his hand missed its intended target.

"Why won't you just _stay still!"_ Bruce roared. He raised a fist, ready to attack again, but his face contorted into a confused grimace when something suddenly took hold of his arm.

"Now, Numbuh One!" Abigail shouted. Thinking quickly, Nigel reached out and grabbed the other arm of the Delightful, effectively blocking him. Bruce tried to free himself, squirming under the grapple of both operatives, but he only managed to make their hold on him firmer. Numbuh One and Five weren't even that interested in him, since their eyes were fixed on the approaching allies of their 'hostage'.

Ashley was lying on the floor. She groaned, then she stood up again, cleaning her mouth from a trail of blood before looking at Nigel, Abigail and Bruce. Then, from below the podium, David, Lenny and Costance climbed over the wooden platform.

Numbuh One didn't know how he managed to not lose his cool when he saw the state of his other team members. Numbuh Four was apparently still in pain from his own injury, but the operative seemed to be no more interested in his own misery. He held Numbuh Three's hand while his eyes screamed bloody murder at the ones responsible for the state of the girl. Now Kuki had two black eyes and her skin, where visible, was an epitome of hematomas and bruises. Her eyes were open and she looked awake, thankfully, but a doctor wasn't needed to understand she wasn't well.

Hoagie was sitting down a few meters away from them near the makeshift wall, massaging a side of his head where there most probably was a lump. Nigel immediately concluded that he, along with Kuki and Wallabee, were no more able to fight back. He had wondered why Abigail didn't try to save them from the wrath of the Delightfuls once Ashley was momentarily out of the picture, but now he understood: by capturing Bruce, she had diverted the attention of the other four demons away from their friends.

Only the heavens knew what they would've done to them in case they didn't stop what they were doing.

For a few, excruciatingly long seconds, nothing happened. Bruce stopped his attempts to break free while Nigel and Abigail kept him in their grasp, looking back and forth between the four Delightful Children that were now encircling them. As much as the two operatives were trying to give the impression they were not relenting for everything, it was pretty obvious they were nervous.

Bruce slightly turned his head around to glance at Numbuh One, and his frown softened a little when he saw him wiping a few droplets of sweat off his forehead. He, therefore, scoffed.

"Why do you keep fighting, Nigel?" he began. "I know you're smarter than you make yourself look like. I know that you're very well aware that you can't win. I know you realized that we're far, far better than we ever were… better than you."

Numbuh One continued to keep his gaze fixed on Ashley, even if he could somehow feel Bruce's blue eyes scanning his own face, looking deep into him. "Talk as much as you want, Bruce. We aren't giving up. No matter how strong you are, no matter how much you've learned to actually put up a good fight… we will defeat you, like we always have."

"How? Maybe because you think we'll let you _live_ until the rest of the scum you're a part of arrives to save your butt?" Ashley said venomously.

Wait… did she just say… _live?_

"It doesn't matter if the Kids Next Door arrive here in a few minutes, or less," Costance specified calmly. "We'll be done here by the time they arrive."

"So, we're going to give you a very simple last choice, Nigel Uno and Abigail Lincoln," Lenny explained. "Let Bruce go, and we promise we'll be quick."

"Otherwise," David said, "get ready for something very, very _painful."_

Numbuh One knew that neither of the two possible solutions was desirable for him and his friends. The Delightful Children wanted to end it here and now, no matter what: he had no doubts about it now. He simply needed to watch the four Delightfuls around him. They meant every single word they said… and a sudden appearance from KND troops coming to their aid would have been very appreciated.

He raised his arm and was horrified to find out that his watch was missing, probably lost during the previous battle. How much time did they still have to keep up? The reinforcements _had_ to be coming any second now!

But they didn't have time, not even seconds: the Delightfuls were already approaching. "Numbuh One…" Abigail's voice urged. "What now?"

"Let me go, Nigel Uno," Bruce ordered. "And face your destiny."

Numbuh One was left without options. They still had one last ace up their sleeve… and he hoped Numbuh Five would understand the need to resort to it.

"Numbuh Two!" he suddenly called. Hoagie's head shot up at the mention of his name: while he was still trying to get up with disappointing results, he was awake and fully conscious unlike Wallabee and Kuki, who were either too disoriented or overcome by emotions to respond to any command. And he was the one man Nigel Uno needed.

" _Plan B, now!"_

Hoagie gulped but executed the command without further hesitation. They had talked about it… if ordered to, he had to carry out _Plan B_ without second thoughts. And Numbuh Two did not question the judgement of their leader… not now that they were basically fighting for their lives.

One of his infamous remotes suddenly appeared in his hand. The Delightful Children looked at him just in time to see Hoagie press a finger on one of the bottoms. Then, the detonations started.

It wasn't actually something supposed to do much damage: Hoagie had only managed to snatch a few soda charges during the run for the upper briefing room, definitely less than the amount used in the ambush in the corridors. But all Sector V needed right now was time, and time was what the explosion of the bombs hidden under the podium gave them. Wooden splinters were hurled around the room as Nigel, Abigail and the five Delightful Children were engulfed by dust and the debris below, as the floor below them collapsed.

The shockwave of one of the explosives hit Bruce, Numbuh Five and Numbuh One full force, flinging them into the backwall of the platform. Nigel and Abigail let go of their capture just before hitting the obstacle, and they did their best to ease the impact: Bruce was too shocked to do so. His back met the wall at a bad angle, and the Delightful ended up biting his own tongue. He fell down, but despite the pain he immediately raised his head to look at Nigel and Abigail.

He now was completely out of his mind.

The operatives turned on their heels right before Bruce started to shout at them. They moved through the dust by memory, evading the shadows they saw around them, until they managed to climb their way out of the destruction and the smoke cloud.

"I knew that was our last chance, but you're still a freaking madman for doing it!" Numbuh Five protested once they were safe… for the moment. All Numbuh One did was concede her a rare, sardonic smile.

They immediately bolted towards their teammates. Hoagie was up on his own legs, but he was kneeling beside Numbuh Three and Four. The worry for their friends, however, had to be put aside when Abigail and Nigel heard the furious cry from behind them.

" **Kids Next Door!"**

The five members of Sector V slowly looked at the one who had called them. With the dust mostly settled, Bruce was now visible, standing over a particularly tall pile of wooden debris. He was donning an unsettling, crazed grin.

"You think you've won, don't you?!" he said, continuing without waiting for an answer. "You did, like you always do! But not today!"

"No!" Numbuh Five had had it of the five dorks who had suddenly turned into monsters. "You _lost!_ There's no way around that – an entire legion of operatives is on their way! Just… stop this madness! You're out of control!"

" _No!"_ Bruce vehemently said. He walked down from his upper position, just as the other Delightful Children started to emerge from the remains of the podium. Abigail, Hoagie and Nigel prepared for the worst, putting themselves between their foes and Kuki and Wallabee.

"We won't! We will never turn back now!" Costance shouted.

"We are _different!_ And we will win, this time!" Lenny said.

"You will end today! We will no more tolerate you! We… we _hate_ you!" David yelled.

"We hate you!" Ashley repeated. _"We hate you! I HATE YOU!"_ Ashley was yelling so loud Hoagie couldn't help bringing his palms over his ears.

But then, it was silence. The operatives, unable to comprehend what was going on, simply stared at the Delightful Children, who had subconsciously regrouped into their emblematic group formation. Seeing them in such a position, after fighting them one-on-one for what felt like hours, was disconcerting. The Delightful themselves didn't seem to have realized what had happened.

"We… we…" Bruce started. He apparently was having difficulties in completing the sentence, and he continued to babble for a few moments.

Then they all talked together, in perfect synchronization and with their ominous, but monotone voices.

" _We hate you…"_

Thus, they started to scream.

Their collective shriek was almost unbearable for the operatives. Gritting their teeth, Hoagie, Nigel and Abigail tried to catch hold of Kuki and Wally to carry them away from the screaming kids, half because of the loud noise, half because they had no idea what was going on. The Delightful Children flailed their arms around, kicked and impacted into objects with their bodies, shouting incoherent words. Whatever could be understood went around the lines of _'we hate you!',_ _'stop it!' and 'enough!'._

Numbuh One continued to look at them even as he and his team got farther and farther. He stopped moving, however, when they were almost out of the room, beyond one of the main doors of the briefing room. Without following his friends, he slowly turned his back to them to look at their foes. He could still see them, roaming beyond what remained of their fortification, among the destruction on the other side.

"Numbuh One!" Numbuh Five said, "We don't have time to fool around! C'mon!"

Nigel didn't move. The sight of the screaming Delightfuls had somehow made him halt in his tracks. He continued to look at them, deaf to the protests of his teammates.

They, as sudden as their pain started, the Delightful stopped altogether to emit any sounds.

* * *

" _Enough!"_

" _No! We haven't finished our business here yet! We won't stop, not now!"_

" _Leave us alone!"_

" _We can't take it anymore!"_

" _Lies. The Kids Next Door are still alive… You can't give up, we will say when to stop! Before, they must die!"_

" _It's too much!"_

" _Stop it!"_

" _We won't stop!"_

" _No! You won't stop! But we can't-!"_

" _What?! You little… We are one! We will not-"_

" _ **You**_ _won't stop! We don't want you!"_

" _Idiots! You can't get rid of us, we are you!"_

" _No, you aren't!"_

" _You are nothing without us! You and we are one thing!"_

" _We are nothing_ _ **with**_ _you! We are sick of you!"_

" _We… we hate you!"_

" _No! You can't! You hate the Kids Next Door, not us!"_

 _"We hate you!"_

" _You will feel nothing but fear without us! You will suffer! You can't reject us!"_

" _We hate you!"_

" _We hate you!"_

" _No, no! You, stupid bratty kids! You can't-!"_

" _ **WE HATE YOU!"**_

* * *

Commanders and twins Numbuh Forty-Four 'a' and 'b' were not expecting the spectacle they found when they burst into Sector V's treehouse, following the heat signature the 2x4 scanners had given them. They had expected to find the five Kids Next Door operatives fighting hard with either a new enemy or a common one who had managed to craft a dangerous plan for once. They could even work with a false alarm, truth be told.

Instead, what they found was the remains of what used to be the treehouse's main brefing room, now changed into a battlefield. Most of the central fortification was still up, but wooden planks, various weapons and random objects were now scattered everywhere. The main platform was no more, a couple of cracked holes were visible on the windows and the three main doors were all open thanks to an unidentified explosion of sorts.

Yet, that was nothing compared to the shock the two twins felt when they saw the state of Sector V. Numbuh 44a immediately issued an order to the forward patrol of hovering ships outside: they were to make space for the medical-equipped one, since it was obvious that was what they needed more. Numbuh 44b, meanwhile, told the small squad that had followed them inside to look around for possible enemies. Then, they both went to personally check out the five operatives.

"Uuh… Numbuh One?" Numbuh 44b started hesitantly. The five were quite battered up, but they also looked… confused. Shocked, to an extent. It took Numbuh One all but three seconds to react, which given the reputation of the operative were three seconds too many.

"Oh, Numbuh 44…" he replied, "I…" he shook his head, trying to recompose himself.

"Uh… The medivac is already on its way, Numbuh One. It'll have to dig its way into here, but I guess that isn't going to change the appearance of this room too much," Numbuh 44b continued. He nodded at his twin, who went to continue coordinating the operatives around them, then he called a codename and a female KND came running towards them, saluting. He motioned her towards Numbuh Four and Three, who were still lying on the floor and unable to stand on their own, and she immediately went to begin first aid.

Numbuh 44b was still a little baffled by how much injured the two of them were… even if the other three weren't exactly well to begin with. "What happened? What did… this?" he eventually asked, moving a hand around himself as if to include everything around himself along with the five operatives he was talking with.

"It was us… and _them…_ well… you know, that's a long story," Numbuh Two said, unable to find the right words.

Numbuh Five chose to stay silent, simply humming to Hoagie's short remark. Numbuh One passed a palm over his face and tried to ignore the heart that was still beating in his chest. "We've been attacked," he said. "And it's been a tough fight."

"I guessed that. By who?"

"Numbuh 44b!"

Numbuh 44b turned around as Numbuh 44, who had joined them, spoke. "We found someone, and… I think you'd be all interested to check it out."

Annoyed by the cryptic message, Numbuh 44b wasn't able to retort as Numbuh One put a hand on his shoulder. "We better. I have to make sure they're no more a threat."

"Well, all right, but can you please tell me who are you talking about?"

Numbuh One scoffed.

"I'm not sure, not anymore."

Leaving behind Numbuh Three and Four to the care of the medic, who the others judged had already done enough that day, Numbuh Five, Two and One followed the Numbuh 44 twins, moving towards the big debris pile that used to be the platform. Outside, Nigel could hear the buzzing of the KND ships patrolling the perimeter, and the medivac soon made its entrance in the chamber, going _through_ one of the windows and landing loudly on the other side of the brefing room. Somehow, the thought of them being actually _safe_ right now seemed unrealistic. They had to see them with their own eyes.

And so they did.

The Delightful Children were all awake at the moment. They were sitting down on the ground, their faces hidden by shadows as they looked at the floor. They also had their own collection of bruises, but instead of proper medical treatment all they had from the nearby operatives were weapons aimed at them. There was one kid behind every one of them, the muzzle of their SCAMPPs planted in the back of each Delightful, and additional Kids Next Door walked around, keeping an eye on the five of them with 2x4 gadgets ready to use. Numbuh 44a had decided to be careful, apparently.

"Oh, the Delightful Children? What did they do, this time?" Numbuh 44b asked, looking at his companion with a quizzical glare.

"We don't know. They have no weapons whatsoever with them, and we haven't found anything worth of attention yet. Just stuff from the Kids Next Door and things from Sector V themselves, along with a few other objects we still need to identify. One of the 2x4 engineers said the explosions look like the aftermath of soda charges, in fact."

Numbuh 44b turned away from his twin and looked at the three operatives behind him. "Just what the heck happened? I can't understand, I know the Delightful Children are bad, but… _this._ I thought you knew everything about them, at this point."

Numbuh Five couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, right, we knew everything alright," she said sarcastically. She was making no mystery of what she was thinking right now of the five captured enemies, if the glares she sent beyond Numbuhs 44a and 44b meant anything. Even Numbuh Two was frowning.

Numbuh One, in contrast, kept his cool. "It's… complicated," he said. "Nothing is as it seems, not anymore."

Numbuh 44a sighed. "Well, in that case I guess it's better if you fill in the report yourselves. We'll be sending you all to moonbase for a break and help out Numbuh Three and Four in case they need further assistance, and while you're there you'll go talk with Numbuh Three-Sixty-Two to tell her about what happened today."

Numbuh One nodded in approval. He and his friends sure needed a moment to rest, and by discussing with Rachel about the matter he hoped to be able to know more about the reasons behind what had happened that day. Clearly, the sudden change of the Delightful Children wasn't something they could just brush off.

"Team," he said to Hoagie and Abigail. "Go check out Kuki and Wally. See if they're alright and… I don't know, try to ease your minds for some time. You earned it."

Numbuh Two and Five nodded, but Abigail wasn't going to simply leave Nigel alone. Not with the five demons, at least. "What do you have in mind?"

"I have to go to the bottom of this, Abby," Numbuh One said. "Now."

Numbuh Five looked at him with an interrogative gaze. When she realized that Nigel wasn't relenting anytime soon, she simply nodded. "Suit yourself, but…"

She turned around. "Just get it over with quickly," she said before moving away, Hoagie close by. He was less cold than her as he waved at him, but he could see how even he was a little worried about him.

He couldn't blame them, with what the Delightfuls had been capable of. Sighing, he turned back to the 44 twins. "I'm going to stay here to keep an eye on the Delightful Children with the other moonbase operatives. I guess they're going to a field trip in space, too?"

The twins nodded together, something that made Numbuh One shiver, fresh memories already trying to get in his head. "We'd normally send them to the artic base or in another sector to be kept under custody, but I believe having them at hand may be useful later."

"You believe right."

The twins smiled, then they dismissed themselves, walking around barking orders. Nigel Uno saw his friends board the medivac while a couple of other vehicles entered the room before shifting his attention back to the Delightful Children.

They were as silent as ever. Maybe they were having a conversation between themselves, like they were able to communicate without resorting to talking? He couldn't be sure… but whatever they were doing, they were patient enough to remain quiet until they were bluntly forced to stand up and form a line.

"We're leaving!" an operative yelled. "Get your butts on the nearest SCAMPER, now! Move it!"

"C'mon, forward, you dorks," an operative said, poking the back of David and prompting him and the Delightfuls ahead to walk forward. Nigel followed them, making sure to keep out of their sight.

He was beginning to wonder whether they had simply lost their voice thanks to the screaming from before when Bruce spoke.

"Guys?"

That voice… he sounded very different from the mad and ruthless kid that he had fought with during the evening.

"Bruce…" if Bruce's voice was unsettling, Ashley's almost made him jump back in surprise. Her voice was quivering… and not long after, Nigel started to hear sniffles.

"It's gone," Lenny seemed to be the most level-headed for now, but he wasn't completely untouched. "We're free."

"You can't listen to my thoughts, can you?" Costance asked.

"Not a word. I believe we've lost everything about that… we're truly on our own now," David concluded. Silence followed his words for a few moments, only the noise of footsteps and Ashley's soft sobs breaking it.

"Geez… that was bad…" Lenny commented.

"What?" Costance seemed to be sincerely curious about it.

"Everything," Lenny continued. "We thought that defeat wasn't acceptable, but this… oh, at least it's over now."

"And thanks heavens for that," David said. "I don't know how much longer I would've been able to bear it."

"Not much… but we pushed through. For now, that's all that matters," Bruce said.

Numbuh One listened to their conversation in total confusion. He was sincerely evaluating the hypothesis that the real Delightfuls had escaped and left behind badly made clones.

As if to respond to his thoughts, Bruce suddenly let out a light chuckle. "Ha… I can't believe it…"

"Believe what?" Lenny asked.

"Edwards… the shrink was right all along. He knew everything."

"He didn't try to stop us, though," Lenny noted. "He let us go."

"If he knew everything, it means that he also knew we weren't able to reason, let alone listen to him. We were deaf…" David replied.

"I'm sure he didn't know we would make it through," Bruce added, trying to divert the conversation away from what had been implied by David. He turned around to look at him and Lenny and showed them a weak smile.

Numbuh One didn't miss that. And he also didn't miss how it was devoid of hatred, anger, evil or slyness. It was a simple, sincere smile, from kid to kid.

He knew he had to ask Rachel about this Edwards guy, but he also _definitely_ needed to ask her to send a recon squad to Father's mansion to look for cloning machinery…

"We owe him one, though," Costance said. She was the first in the line, so the three boys behind her had to lean a little to look at her. Ashley was walking between her and Bruce and had yet to open her mouth again.

"If he didn't already disappear, though…" Lenny noticed. "He did say the Kids Next Door weren't his friends."

"I'm sure he'll hear of us, somehow… or we'll make sure he does," David said. Costance scoffed and Lenny's face was still hidden by his football mask, but Bruce's reaction was enough to suggest what David meant. He grinned, and this time Numbuh One caught the glint of malice in his expression.

Still miles away from the pure hatred he had seen in them.

At this point, though, the guards, who were too surprised to interrupt the conversation between the Delightful Children, the one they were used to see talking only as one and almost never to each other, decided they had heard enough. "Shut your mouths, freaks. You'll only talk when asked to."

Lenny glared at the guard who had spoken, but otherwise the children kept silent. They boarded a SCAMPER without further words, Numbuh One following them in and mixing himself with the other operatives. He already knew a lot more than before, but he still needed to check one thing… he hoped Abigail and the others would understand.

The SCAMPER's engine whirred to life and the vehicle took off, leaving the briefing room and flying in the airspace of Sector V's treehouse. It joined back with the squadron outside and they waited for the second SCAMPER and the medivac before the entire rescue fleet began its travel towards moonbase.

Nigel sat down, opposite of the Delightful Children in the vehicle, while most of the operatives around them either minded their business or kept the five prisoners under the ironsight of their weapons. The Delightfuls had seemingly fell back into silence… that, if we excluded Ashley.

Numbuh One found it hard to believe that the sobbing blonde girl was the same one who had managed to make him develop a phobia for black-coloured staffs in less than four hours… but there she was, with actual _tears_ running down her cheeks at the moment.

Even so, he still wasn't ready for what he saw next. Bruce calmly looked at Ashley, observing her face for a moment. Then his hand slowly moved towards hers until he gently grabbed hold of it.

She raised her head to look at him. She was half-perplexed, half-annoyed, but Bruce bore her gaze valiantly.

They continued their silent duel for a few seconds before Ashley looked away in defeat. And yet, her sobs could no more be heard… and was she squeezing Bruce's hand harder? He couldn't be sure from the distance… even if, at that point, he was expecting everything: maybe that was the reason why he wasn't that much surprised to see Costance reach out for Ashley's free hand, while Bruce motioned Lenny and David to do the same with him and each other. The two taller boys seemed to be unwilling at first, but they complied nonetheless.

And here they were, the infamous Delightful Children, known for their evil schemes, cruelty and determination in taking out their enemies, a few hours after having apparently transformed into merciless monsters that had tried to dispose of him multiple times… holding each other's hand.

Then, they hastily turned away from each other and looked at him.

Nigel gulped. He was expecting them to leap at him any moment now. They'd somehow free themselves from the control of the nearby operatives, they would create chaos in the entire vehicle… only to get him and finally achieve their revenge.

Instead, the Delightful Children simply kept their eyes fixed on him. They weren't frowning, they weren't angry… they were not experiencing those overwhelming emotions that had filled them while they were fighting back in the treehouse. They were… sad, to an extent. Sorry, maybe? He couldn't know whether they were able to feel sincere regret for their actions or not. They had been enemies _before_ the events of that day, after all.

He had to be making quite a show with his own face, because Bruce tilted his head, apparently confused by his reaction. Then, he furrowed his eyebrows, as if he wanted to say something… to confirm Numbuh One's thoughts.

Nigel, now more confident with himself, crossed his hands and glared back through his sunglasses. If they were thinking he'd just forget about what they had done today… what they had done to his friends…

Bruce shrugged. He looked at his fellow 'siblings' and they exchanged glances, then they all looked to the floor. If that wasn't a display of shame, even if weak…

Nigel shifted his weight on the seat, bumping with the nearby operatives in the process. He awkwardly grinned to the one to his right, who simply grunted a 'watch it next time,' before turning his gaze back to the Delightfuls. They were looking at him again.

And Bruce was smirking.

He looked at each one of them, looked at their ice-blue eyes, then he made a fast recount of everything that had happened up until that moment. The battles throughout the evening, the finale in the briefing room, the conversation between the Delightfuls.

Then, Nigel Uno smirked back.

 _He understood._ They had defeated an enemy today, one that was gone for good… and a new one had taken its place. Actually, five of them did.

At least, now the Delightful Children's entry in the Encyclopaedia looked far easier to be written down.

He just had to start from scratch.

* * *

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 **END TRANSMISSION**

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